A Pakistani man accused of plotting to assassinate senior US politicians, including President Donald Trump, told a US court on Wednesday that he was pressured by Iran’s powerful security force to take part in the alleged murder-for-hire scheme, according to US media reports.
Asif Raza Merchant, 47, was charged in September 2024 with attempting to hire a hitman to kill unidentified American political figures. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to reports by The Washington Post and The New York Times, Merchant testified during his trial that he acted under pressure from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He said the group threatened his family in Tehran, forcing him to cooperate with the plan.
“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” Merchant told the court through an Urdu interpreter, according to The Washington Post. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly.”
Merchant told the court he believed authorities would arrest him before anyone could be harmed.
He also testified that he was never ordered to target a specific individual but said his Iranian contact mentioned three prominent US figures in discussions about the plot: Trump, former president Joe Biden, and former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
US officials have previously alleged that Merchant had “close ties to Iran” and described the alleged scheme as resembling tactics used by the Iranian government.
The IRGC has previously been accused of plotting revenge against senior US officials following the 2020 killing of its top commander, Qasem Soleimani, in a US drone strike ordered by Trump.
During his testimony, Merchant said he began communicating with a member of the Revolutionary Guards around 2022 after being asked whether he was “interested in doing some work with the Iranian government,” according to The New York Times.
He said the instructions later expanded beyond the alleged assassination plot to include organizing protests, stealing documents, and laundering money.
Merchant’s trial is unfolding amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran, as the United States and Israel have carried out strikes on Iran that reportedly killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
