US charges a guy in a thwarted assassination attempt of having links to Iran

The Justice Department said on Tuesday that a Pakistani individual with suspected links to Iran has been indicted in the US in relation to an abortive attempt to kill a US politician or government figure.

According to a court complaint, Asif Merchant, 46, tried to enlist Americans to carry out the conspiracy as payback for the United States’ 2020 assassination of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards chief commander Qassem Soleimani.

According to a person familiar with the situation, the plan was not originally intended as an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, who as president sanctioned the drone strike on Soleimani. However, the previous president was considered a possible target of the operation.

Merchant was charged with murder for hire in federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Prosecutors claim that Merchant spent time in Iran prior to going to the United States from Pakistan. Court documents state that on July 17, a federal judge issued an order for his detention.

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a statement, “For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani.”

The purported targets of the scheme are not identified in court filings. The criminal complaint states that the merchant informed a law enforcement informant that “security all around” one target.

A representative with the Justice Department declined to provide any details. Avraham Moskowitz, Merchant’s attorney, did not immediately answer a message seeking comment.

“The U.S. Government has not provided any reports on this subject to us. But it is clear that the approach in issue runs counter to the Iranian government’s stance of pursuing General Soleimani’s killer in court,” the Iranian envoy to the UN in New York told Reuters in a statement.

Trump, the Republican nominee for president on November 5th, was injured last month after an attempt on his life during a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Garland stated on Tuesday that there is no proof that Merchant was involved in the shooting, which authorities have stated was done by a lone 20-year-old shooter.

A representative for Trump’s presidential campaign was not immediately available for comment.

Before the incident happened, law enforcement foiled Merchant’s scheme. According to the complaint, one of the people Merchant reached out to in April to aid with the conspiracy disclosed his activities to the police and turned informant.

Prosecutors claim that Merchant informed the informant that his intentions also included planning rallies in the US and seizing papers from one target.