Asif Merchant, a 47‑year‑old Pakistani businessman, is on trial in Brooklyn federal court, claiming that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forced him into an alleged plot involving the assassination of US President Donald Trump and other political figures.
Merchant faces charges of terrorism and murder‑for‑hire. Prosecutors say he tried to recruit people in the United States to carry out protests, steal documents, launder money and arrange a killing. He has pleaded not guilty.
Speaking through an Urdu interpreter, Merchant told jurors he never wanted to take part in the plan. He said he agreed only because Iranian intelligence threatened his wife and adopted daughter in Tehran.
“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” he said.
Merchant said an IRGC handler instructed him to travel to the United States in 2024 to carry out the tasks. The handler did not specifically order him to kill anyone but named three potential targets: Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden, and former Republican candidate and Indian-origin leader Nikki Haley.
He told the court that he knew he would be caught and hoped that helping the authorities would keep his family safe.
Prosecutors disagreed, saying there is no proof he was forced to act. They showed recordings and surveillance that appeared to show Merchant planning parts of the plot.
Prosecutors also said Merchant knew he was working with a group that the US designates a terrorist organisation. The men he allegedly paid to carry out a killing were actually undercover FBI agents.
Merchant was arrested in July 2024 in Texas as he prepared to recruit individuals he thought were hired killers.
The trial comes amid rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Recent US‑Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other officials. US authorities said the strikes targeted figures linked to threats against American officials. Iran has denied any involvement in plotting against Trump or other US leaders.
Merchant’s defence rests on his claim that he acted only under threats to his family, while prosecutors maintain he knowingly advanced a serious plan to commit murder in the United States. The trial is ongoing, and no verdict has yet been reached.
