A Pakistani man with ties to the Iranian government sought to carry out a political assassination in the United States, a case that was investigated weeks before a gunman tried to kill former President Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.
Asif Merchant, 46, traveled to New York City and worked with a hit man to carry out the assassinations in late August or early September, federal prosecutors said in a court complaint. The complaint says the plot was intended to target high-ranking U.S. officials, potentially including Trump.
"Working on behalf of others overseas, Merchant planned the murder of U.S. government officials on American soil," said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. "This prosecution demonstrates that this Office and the entire U.S. Department of Justice will take swift and decisive action to protect our nation’s security, our government officials and our citizens from foreign threats."
Merchant was arrested on July 12 while preparing to leave the U.S., authorities said. He told investigators that he has a wife and children in Iran and a wife and children in Pakistan.
"Fortunately, the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were undercover FBI Agents," said Acting Assistant Director Christie Curtis of the FBI New York Field Office. "This case underscores the dedication and formidable efforts of our agents, analysts and prosecutors in New York, Houston, and Dallas. Their success in neutralizing this threat not only prevented a tragic outcome but also reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to protecting our nation and its citizens from both domestic and international threats."
Merchant's alleged foiled plot has no ties to the shooting of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, a federal government source told Fox News Digital. Investigators said targets included people on "both sides," not just Trump.
Security concerns related to Trump and his former advisors have been raised before about possible retaliation from Tehran for the 2020 airstrike that killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"We have not received any reports on this matter from the U.S. Government," the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations told Fox News Digital. "However, it is evident that the modus operandi in question contradicts the Iranian Government’s policy of legally prosecuting the murderer of General Soleimani."
