An alleged Iranian operative plotted to hire assassins to target U.S. government officials, including potentially former President Donald Trump, according to federal sources and a criminal complaint.
Pakistani national Asif Merchant, 46, is charged with orchestrating a series of planned political assassinations in New York City between August and early September. Merchant allegedly paid $5,000 in advance to individuals he believed were hitmen, as revealed by Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
According to a law enforcement source, "The Iranian indicted in Eastern District today is unequivocally an agent of the Iranian government." This plot reportedly aimed to avenge the 2020 assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, ordered by Trump. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed the link to the Soleimani killing on Tuesday.
Despite previous attempts on Trump’s life linked to Iranian interests, Merchant did not specify his intended targets during his discussions with undercover agents, merely indicating that the target would be someone with “a lot of security.”
* The New York Post contributed to this article.
