A Pakistani businessman accused of seeking hit men to kill political figures, including President Donald Trump, told jurors he was coerced by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Asif Merchant, 47, said the alleged 2024 plot also named Joe Biden and Nikki Haley as targets.
He testified he only joined the scheme after the paramilitary group threatened his family, saying he felt forced to comply.
“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” Merchant testified through an Urdu interpreter, and he said he was not willing to participate.
Charges and Evidence
Merchant told jurors he expected to be arrested before any attack and intended to cooperate with U.S. authorities in hopes it would help secure a green card.
Federal prosecutors indicted Merchant in July 2024 after agents recorded him outlining a murder plan on a napkin during a meeting with an informant.
Investigators say he tried to hire two hit men for $5,000, but those supposed assassins were undercover FBI agents.
Authorities arrested Merchant as he attempted to leave the country, and officials said the alleged operation appeared tied to Iran.
Officials say the arrest came before any concrete steps toward carrying out a killing, effectively thwarting the alleged plot.
The Iranian government has denied involvement in any plot against Trump or other American officials.
Alleged Handler and Methods
Merchant testified his handler first told him to recruit U.S. residents to assist Iran and later escalated the assignment to include organizing protests, theft, money laundering and a possible killing.
He said the handler named three people as potential targets: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley.
Prosecutors contend Merchant kept pursuing the plan even after immigration officials stopped him at Houston’s airport in April 2024 and questioned him about travel to Iran.
They say Merchant researched Trump rally locations, drafted a plan for a shooting at a political event and collected $5,000 from a cousin as a “token of appreciation.”
Merchant testified he kept his alleged Revolutionary Guard contact informed by sending updates concealed inside a book that was shipped to Iran through intermediaries, and he now says those updates were fabricated.
He said he had “no other option” but to obey the handler because the man suggested he knew where Merchant’s relatives in Iran lived.
Prosecutors disputed that claim, noting Merchant never contacted law enforcement before his arrest and did not mention the alleged threats during FBI interviews.
If convicted, Merchant faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The case is unfolding amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran following a U.S.-Israel military operation that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
