Pakistani Testifies Iran Coerced U.S. Assassination Plot

A Pakistani national on trial in federal court in Brooklyn testified that Iranian intelligence operatives coerced him into plotting assassinations of prominent U.S. political figures, including President Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, by threatening his family.

Asif Merchant, 47, faces charges of murder-for-hire and providing material support to terrorists. He pleaded not guilty following his arrest in July 2024. During testimony on Wednesday, Merchant claimed an Iranian handler identified as Mehrdad Yousef, whom he linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, pressured him starting in April 2024 to travel from Pakistan to the United States and arrange the killings. Merchant said Yousef initially instructed him to recruit individuals willing to conduct operations for Iran, such as organizing protests or laundering money, before escalating to demands for assassinations. He named Trump, Biden and Haley as potential targets during conversations in Tehran.

Merchant described himself as a former banker who had previously assisted Iranian networks in evading U.S. sanctions through financial transactions. He testified that Yousef...