US department of justice on Wednesday charged a Pakistani national – with alleged ties to Iran – for plotting to kill key US politicians including President Donald Trump and Joe Biden.According to authorities, the accused, Asif Merchant, planned the killings in 2024 and attempted to hire two hitmen for $5,000. However, the men he hired, turned out to be undercover FBI agents posing as assassins.Merchant told investigators that an Iranian handler had instructed him in April 2024 to travel to the United States and “maybe have somebody murdered.”“He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he named three people to me: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley,” Merchant said.Merchant was indicted in July 2024 after he was secretly recorded outlining a plan on a napkin to kill an unnamed politician while speaking to a person who turned out to be an informant. He also attempted to recruit two hitmen and offered them $5,000, though both were undercover agents.Calling the case a serious national security threat, then-FBI Director Christopher Wray said the alleged murder-for-hire plot followed tactics commonly associated with the Iranian regime.While the indictment did not explicitly name Trump, a law-enforcement source confirmed that Donald Trump had been discussed as a potential target, and defence lawyers also referenced him in court documents.During court proceedings, Merchant claimed he acted out of fear for relatives living in Iran and believed he would be arrested before any attack could occur.“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 told the court that the handler initially asked him to find US residents willing to work for Iran. Later, the assignment expanded to recruiting a criminal who could organise protests, steal items, carry out money laundering and “maybe have somebody murdered.”Merchant said he felt he had no choice but to comply after the handler indicated he knew the identities and locations of Merchant’s relatives in Iran.The 47-year-old had previously spent nearly two decades working in banking in Pakistan before moving into several businesses, including clothing, car sales, banana exports and insulation imports. He also said he maintained two families—one in Pakistan and another in Iran—where he claimed he was introduced to an intelligence operative linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in late 2022.Despite suspecting he was under surveillance after US immigration agents questioned him at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston in April 2024, Merchant continued researching Trump rally locations. He allegedly sketched a plan for a shooting at a political rally, arranged meetings with the supposed hitmen and gathered $5,000 from a cousin to pay them as a “token of appreciation.”The trial is unfolding amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, following Donald Trump launching a joint military campaign with Israel against Iran under Operation Epic Fury. The offensive, carried out without congressional authorisation, has drawn criticism from several Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans who argue the president initiated an “illegal” war.
