A Pakistani man accused of plotting to assassinate US politicians, including President Donald Trump, told a US court on Wednesday that he was pressured by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to organize the alleged murder-for-hire scheme, according to US media reports.
Asif Raza Merchant, 47, was charged in September 2024 with attempting to hire a hitman to assassinate unidentified American politicians. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Revolutionary Guards have previously been accused of plotting attacks against senior US officials, including Trump, following the 2020 killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani by the United States.
During testimony in court, Merchant claimed he was forced to participate in the plot to protect his family living in Tehran from the Guards. He also said he believed he would be arrested before anyone could be harmed.
According to multiple media reports, Merchant testified that he was never instructed to target a specific individual. However, he said his Iranian contact mentioned three prominent figures in relation to the plan: Trump, former US president Joe Biden and former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
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“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” Merchant told the court through an Urdu interpreter, according to The Washington Post. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly.”
Merchant’s trial comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, as the United States and Israel continue military strikes on Iran. Reports indicate that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been killed during the conflict.
US officials previously alleged that Merchant maintained “close ties to Iran” and described the plot as being “straight out of the Iranian regime’s playbook.”
According to The New York Times, Merchant testified that he first began working with a member of the Revolutionary Guards around 2022, after being asked if he was interested in “doing some work with the Iranian government.”
He was later instructed to organize activities including staging protests, stealing documents, laundering money and potentially arranging a killing.
Merchant told the court he feared for the safety of his wife and adopted daughter living in Iran, which led him to agree to participate.
Authorities eventually arrested him after he attempted to hire individuals he believed were contract killers, but who were actually undercover agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
