March 5, 2026

A Pakistani businessman accused of trying to hire hitmen to kill political targets, including President Donald Trump, insisted that Iran forced his actions as he testified to jurors in New York on Wednesday.

Asif Merchant, 47, said Trump wasn’t the only potential target of the 2024 assassination scheme, telling jurors the list included then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate and ex-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. He claimed that he only took part in the plot because Iran ‘s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened his family.

 

 

Pakistani businessman Asif Merchant testified in New York that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard coerced him into plotting the assassination of political figures including President Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Nikki Haley, claiming his family was threatened. Merchant stated he never wanted to carry out the killings willingly and had planned to cooperate with U.S. authorities to secure a green card before his arrest. He was indicted in July 2024 after being caught on camera detailing the plot and attempting to hire hitmen, who were actually FBI agents, to carry out the attack.

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