Pak Man convicted in plot to assassinate Trump, other US leaders

A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been convicted in New York for plotting to assassinate US President Donald Trump and other American politicians to avenge the death of Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in 2020. Asif Raza Merchant, 48, was convicted by a federal jury in a Brooklyn court Friday of murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. Merchant faces up to life in prison. US Attorney General Pamela Bondi said Merchant came to America with a plot to kill Trump.
During his trial Wednesday, Merchant testified that he was forced into the plot to protect his family in the Iranian capital Tehran from the Guards, adding that he thought he would get caught before anyone was killed, multiple media outlets reported. He said he was never ordered to kill a specific person but noted his Iranian contact had mentioned three people in connection with the plot -- President Trump, former president Joe Biden and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.
In April 2024, Merchant arrived in the United States and began looking for people who could carry out assassinations. He contacted an acquaintance in New York whom he believed could help arrange the killings. The individual instead reported Merchant to authorities and became a confidential source for investigators.
Merchant's trial comes as the US and Israel carry out attacks on Iran, which have killed Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. US officials previously said Merchant had "close ties to Iran" and described his alleged plot as "straight out of the Iranian regime's playbook." Washington said it aimed to curb nuclear and missile threats from Tehran but it has also decapitated the country's government, and President Donald Trump is now demanding "unconditional surrender." Merchant was arrested on July 12, 2024 as he planned to leave the country.