A Pakistani businessman accused of attempting to hire hit men to assassinate political figures — including President Donald Trump — told jurors in a New York courtroom that he was forced into the plot by Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.
Asif Merchant, 47, testified Wednesday that Trump was not the only potential target in the alleged 2024 assassination scheme. According to Merchant, the list of possible victims also included then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Merchant told jurors he acted under pressure from an Iranian intelligence handler who threatened his relatives living in Iran.
“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” Merchant testified through an Urdu interpreter. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly.”
He said he believed he would be arrested before anyone was harmed and planned to cooperate with U.S. authorities afterward in hopes of receiving leniency — and potentially a green card.
Alleged plot uncovered by FBI
Federal prosecutors say Merchant was arrested in July 2024 after outlining a murder-for-hire scheme to a man who was actually an informant working with the FBI. According to court filings, Merchant sketched out a plan on a napkin during a recorded meeting and later attempted to hire two men — who turned out to be undercover federal agents — to carry out the killing.
He allegedly provided the agents with $5,000 as an initial payment while discussing possible methods for killing a political target.
Authorities arrested Merchant in Texas as he prepared to leave the United States, before any attack could be carried out.
Merchant testified that his handler initially asked him to recruit people in the United States willing to assist Iran. The assignment later escalated to finding someone capable of organizing protests, committing theft, laundering money and “maybe have somebody murdered.”
“He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he told me — he named three people: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley,” Merchant said in court.
Prosecutors, however, argue that Merchant continued working on the plan even after U.S. immigration officials questioned him at Houston’s airport in April 2024 about his travel to Iran. Investigators say he researched Trump rally locations, drafted plans for a shooting at a political event and gathered money to pay the supposed hit men.
In court filings, prosecutors also noted that Merchant never contacted law enforcement before his arrest and did not initially tell FBI agents that he had been acting under duress.
If convicted, Merchant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Part of broader Iran-linked threats
The case is one of several alleged plots tied to Iran targeting former Trump administration officials in the years following the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani. U.S. officials say Iran has sought revenge for the strike by attempting to target Trump and other senior American figures.
Another Justice Department case filed in 2024 accused an Afghan national, Farhad Shakeri, of working with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to organize a separate murder-for-hire scheme aimed at Trump and other targets.
The Iranian government has repeatedly denied involvement in assassination plots against U.S. leaders.
Authorities have also emphasized that other attempts on Trump’s life during the 2024 campaign — including the shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — were not connected to Iran and were carried out by individuals acting alone.
Trial unfolds amid rising tensions
Merchant’s trial comes during a period of heightened conflict between the United States and Iran. The proceedings are unfolding as a widening regional war involving Iran continues, with U.S. prosecutors arguing that the alleged plot reflects Iran’s willingness to conduct covert operations on American soil.
This article originally appeared on Great America News Desk. It is republished with permission.
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