A Pakistani national arrested in the United States has claimed in court that he was recruited by Iranian operatives to carry out an assassination plot targeting President Trump and other American political figures.
According to US prosecutors, the man—identified as Asif Merchant—attempted to hire individuals he believed were contract killers in order to carry out the attack. In reality, the “hitmen” were undercover FBI agents, and the plot was foiled before any violence could occur.
Merchant testified that he had been directed by a handler connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He claimed he agreed to participate because Iranian operatives threatened his family in Tehran. Prosecutors, however, argued that he knowingly worked with the IRGC and actively pursued the murder-for-hire plan, even paying cash to individuals he believed would carry out the killing.
Authorities said the potential targets mentioned during the planning stage included President Trump, former President Joe Biden, and former US ambassador Nikki Haley. Investigators believe the plot may have been motivated in part by revenge for the 2020 US strike that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.