A Pakistani national identified as Asif Merchant has been charged by United States authorities for allegedly plotting the assassination of top American politicians and government officials.
According to the US Justice Department, the Pakistani citizen, 46, reportedly has ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran and travelled to New York in June 2024 with the intent to hire a hitman to commit these assassinations.
The official further said that the man was motivated by revenge for the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp’s (IRGC) top commander General Qassem Qasem Soleimani who was assassinated by a targeted US drone strike on 3 January 2020 in Baghdad, Iraq.
Merchant’s plan involved targeting unspecified US officials with reports suggesting that former President Donald Trump was among those considered potential victims.
It is pertinent to mention that Trump during his presidential tenure approved the drone strike that killed Soleimani which top global leaders implied that he violated the US domestic law banning political assassinations.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) described the case of the Asif Merchant plot as part of “Iranian-directed threats against US officials”.
FBI Director Christoper Wray stated that such plots are “straight out of the Iranian playbook” and pose significant risks to American citizens and officials.
“For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement as reported by Al Jazeera.
According to the reports, In June Merchant made arrangements to pay individuals he believed were hitmen, who were actually undercover law enforcement agents. He discussed various elements of his plan, which included stealing documents from targets, organising protests and executing the assassinations.
The reports further reveal that Merchant planned to communicate with his third operatives from abroad using coded language. However, his mission couldn’t reach to goal and was arrested on July 12, 2024, just before he was set to leave the country.
After the revelation, the US government came into action and increased security for Trump and other officials in light of these threats.
Although the timing of Merchant’s arrest coincided with an assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania when he was addressing the public. However, officials stated there is no evidence linking the two events and Merchant had nothing to do with accused Crooks of Bethel Park.
However, Merchant remains in federal custody, facing serious charges that could have far-reaching implications for US-Iran relations and domestic security.
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