A suspect in the plot to assassinate U.S. President Donald Trump said the assassination had been planned by Iran’s regime and that his family had been threatened.
Asif Raza Merchant, a Pakistani man accused of planning the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump and several other senior American politicians, told the court that the plot had been imposed on him under pressure from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Merchant, who was charged in September 2024 with attempting to hire a hitman to assassinate American politicians, said during his trial that he was forced to participate in the plot in order to protect his family, who live in Tehran.
Pakistan National Arrested in U.S. On Charges of Trying to Hire a Hitman on Behalf Iran’s Regime
Merchant said in court through an Urdu interpreter: “My family were under pressure and threats, and I had to do this.”
According to him, although he had not received a specific order to kill a particular individual, his Iranian contact mentioned the names of several American political figures during the course of the plot.
Merchant told the court that among the names mentioned were Donald Trump, former U.S. president Joe Biden, and Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
This case comes as earlier reports had indicated that after the killing of Qassem Soleimani in 2020, the IRGC had attempted to target senior American officials, including Trump.
U.S. officials had previously stated that Merchant had close connections with Iran and that his alleged plot was entirely consistent with the typical methods used by Iran’s regime.
Merchant also told the court that he began cooperating with an individual from the IRGC around 2022.
According to judicial officials, he had attempted to hire individuals to carry out the assassination who were in fact undercover FBI agents, which ultimately led to his arrest.
