Pakistani Man with Alleged Ties to Iran Charged in Foiled US Assassination Plot

Asif Merchant, a 46-year-old Pakistani national, has been charged by the US Department of Justice with plotting to kill politicians in the United States. Prosecutors allege that Merchant sought to recruit individuals in the US to carry out the plot in retaliation for the US killing of Iran's top commander, Qassem Soleimani, in 2020. Merchant is accused of traveling to New York from Pakistan, where he attempted to hire a hitman to carry out the assassinations. The plot was disrupted before it could be carried out, and Merchant was detained on July 17. According to prosecutors, Merchant's mission was to avenge Soleimani's death, and he even paid a $5,000 advance to two undercover law enforcement officers who were posing as would-be assassins.