A federal jury in the US on Friday, March 6, convicted Pakistanis of plotting to kill President Donald Trump and other prominent US politicians at the behest of Iran.
Convicted Asif Merchant, also known as “Asif Raza Merchant,” was accused of trying to recruit people in the U.S. in a scheme targeting Trump and others. Merchant’s targets, according to the Justice Department, also included then-President Joe Biden and Nikki Haley, who ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.
Prosecutors said the killings were in retaliation for the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Soleimani was killed on January 3, 2020, in a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq during Trump’s first term.
Who is Asif Merchant?
Asif Merchant is a 47-year-old Pakistani national who worked for Pakistani banks for decades and was also involved in the garment industry. He has two families, in Pakistan and Iran.
According to the Department of Justice, Merchant is a trained Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operative and entered the United States with the intent to commit acts of terrorism.
Read also | The role, organization and strength of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards explained
Merchant began working for the IRGC in Pakistan in late 2022 or early 2023, receiving trade training, including counter-surveillance.
He entered the US to hire hitmen
He first entered the US in 2023 with the mission of finding potential IRGC recruits to stay in the country.
The businessman, who traveled repeatedly to Iran to meet with his IRGC handler, was sent back to the US in 2024, where he was tasked with recruiting “mob” members to steal documents, stage a protest, and assassinate one of three targets.
How the murder plot fell apart
However, his plot collapsed after an acquaintance contacted Merchant in New York and alerted law enforcement. An acquaintance, Nadeem Ali, “helped” Merchant plan the operations while remaining a confidential source for law enforcement.
Merchant told Ali that the assassination would take place after he left the US and met the alleged hitmen, who were secret officials, in mid-June.
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On June 21, Merchant paid $5,000 in cash as a deposit to Secret Service agents and planned to leave the US. He was taken into custody on July 12, the day Merchant was scheduled to fly out of the US.
What Asif Merchant said
During his trial in New York last week, Merchant admitted that he joined the plot with Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, but testified that he did so reluctantly to protect his family in Tehran.
Read also | Iran has named Ahmad Vahidi as the new head of the IRGC amid an escalating attack by the US and Israel
“My family was threatened and I had to do it,” he said.
Merchant also told the jury that he was following instructions from a contact in the IRGC. According to Merchant, the handler never specified a target, but mentioned the names of then-candidate Donald Trump, then-President Joe Biden and Nikki Haley during conversations in the Iranian capital.
Asif Merchant faces life in prison
A jury in Brooklyn convicted Merchant on charges of “murder for hire and attempted terrorist act that transcends national borders.” He faces up to life in prison.
Key things
- The case highlights the global consequences of terrorism and its connection to international relations.
- Business motivations highlight the personal conflicts that individuals may face in the face of coercion.
- The importance of law enforcement vigilance in thwarting international conspiracies is critical to national security.
