Prosecutors have charged Asif Raza Merchant, a Pakistani man with links to Iran, for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official. This was in response to the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani.
According to the Justice Department, 46-year-old Merchant tried to hire a hitman to target a US politician or government official. “These terrorism and murder-for-hire charges demonstrate our resolve to counteract Iran’s lethal actions against Americans,” stated Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Soleimani died in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020.
US Attorney Breon Peace commented, “Merchant allegedly planned to kill US politicians and government officials. This indictment warns terrorists everywhere.”
The specific target of the plot remains undisclosed. However, the attorney general confirmed there is no link between Merchant and the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
FBI Director Christopher Wray highlighted Merchant’s strong connections to Iran, noting that the plot reflects typical Iranian tactics. An FBI official revealed that the assassins Merchant sought were undercover FBI agents.
“After his time in Iran, Merchant came to the US from Pakistan and contacted someone he believed would help him assassinate a US official,” reported the Justice Department. “That person alerted the authorities and worked as a confidential informant.”
Authorities arrested Merchant on July 12 as he was about to leave the country.
In August, Iran’s UN mission stated that it had received no official report about this case from the US. “However, this approach contradicts the Iranian government’s policy of pursuing Soleimani’s killer through legal channels,” said the mission in a statement published by the official IRNA news agency.
