In a recent announcement from Brooklyn’s federal prosecutors, it was revealed that Asif Merchant, identified as a Pakistani national believed to have links with the Iranian government, has been formally accused of planning political killings on U.S. soil. Tuesday saw the unveiling of a lawsuit against Merchant, charging him with a murder-for-hire scheme.
The charge sheet details how Merchant came to New York to discuss assassination plans with undercover officers, who were impersonating contract killers. He is said to have paid an upfront fee of $5,000 for the deadly endeavor and indicated through discussions and gestures, like simulating a gun with his fingers, that the planned assassinations were to be recurring, not singular, incidents.
In his press statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland highlighted this thwarted assassination attempt as an example of Iran’s aggressive tactics against American officials, linking it back to the 2020 eradication of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani by U.S. command—a move ordered under the administration of then-President Donald Trump. Following an alleged attempt on Trump at a Pennsylvania rally, which raised his security measures due to speculated retaliatory plans by Tehran, the Iranian authorities have dismissed such allegations.
Merchant’s apprehension occurred on July 12, just a day before an unrelated incident targeting Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was reported. Garland’s statement emphasized the Department of Justice’s commitment to countering any threats against U.S. citizens or officials that compromise national security, asserting that actions by authoritarian regimes targeting Americans will not be tolerated.
Questions to Merchant’s legal representative for comments have been made by The Hill. According to prosecutors, Merchant had been in Iran before arriving in the U.S. in April, where he sought to hire individuals for a covert operation which involved theft, organizing protests at political events, and assassinations of political figures. He intended to instruct his hired personnel on their target between the last week of August and the first week of September, after leaving the U.S., as per the allegation documents.
Merchant’s attempt to leave the country on July 12 was unsuccessful due to his arrest. The event of the next day concerning Trump has been stated by authorities as unrelated to Merchant’s plans.
FBI Director Christopher Wray condemned the assassination plot as a serious threat to U.S. national security, originating from a Pakistani with strong Iranian affiliations, reflecting Iran’s strategic patterns. He assured that any foreign-led ventures to harm U.S. officials or citizens would confront the full extent of the FBI’s capabilities.
