Pakistani Businessman Found Guilty in Iran-Linked Assassination Scheme

A Brooklyn jury convicted Pakistani business owner Asif Merchant on terrorism and murder-for-hire charges after he attempted to recruit hitmen to kill U.S. political figures during the 2024 election cycle. Merchant claimed he was acting under orders from Iran's Revolutionary Guard but was caught by FBI undercover agents before any attack could occur.

A Brooklyn federal jury delivered a guilty verdict Friday against a Pakistani businessman who orchestrated a failed assassination scheme targeting American political leaders, with prosecutors linking the plot to Iran’s military forces.

Asif Merchant, 47, was found guilty on terrorism and murder-for-hire charges after a week-long trial where he admitted to attempting to arrange killings during the height of the 2024 presidential election season. The jury reached their decision in just a few hours of deliberation.

During his testimony, Merchant revealed he was following orders from an operative within Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, the country’s elite paramilitary force. He stated that while his handler never identified specific targets, discussions included then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, sitting President Joe Biden, and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who was also seeking the Republican nomination at the time.

Iran’s government has rejected accusations of plotting to eliminate American officials.

The conspiracy unraveled when Merchant demonstrated his intentions to an associate by arranging items on a napkin to simulate a shooting at a political rally. When he requested help finding professional killers, the associate instead connected him with undercover FBI operatives who documented their interactions.

During a meeting in a parked Manhattan vehicle, Merchant told the supposed assassins he required services that might involve eliminating “some political person” and provided them with $5,000 in cash.

“This man landed on American soil hoping to kill President Trump — instead, he was met with the might of American law enforcement,” Attorney General Pam Bondi declared following the conviction.

Defense attorney Avraham Moskowitz has not responded to requests for comment.

Merchant spent decades working in Pakistan’s banking sector before transitioning to clothing and other commercial ventures. He maintains families in both Pakistan and Iran and previously traveled to America for his textile business operations.

According to his court testimony, Merchant encountered a Revolutionary Guard intelligence officer approximately three years ago. This contact provided him with surveillance evasion techniques and various assignments, including the assassination plan.

Merchant insisted he felt compelled to follow his handler’s directions to safeguard family members living in Iran. He claimed he reluctantly participated while expecting to be apprehended and able to clarify his circumstances to law enforcement before any violence occurred.

“I was going along with it,” he testified in Urdu through a court translator.

Federal prosecutors highlighted that Merchant confessed to actively pursuing the scheme on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard, which the United States designates as a terrorist organization, and failed to voluntarily contact authorities.

Law enforcement arrested him on July 12, 2024, as he prepared to depart for Pakistan. This occurred one day before a separate, unrelated assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Officials indicated the Pennsylvania shooter appeared to operate independently, though they had been monitoring Iranian threats against Trump, which Iran dismissed as “unsubstantiated and malicious.”

When Merchant later spoke with FBI agents about potential cooperation, he did not mention acting under duress to protect his family.

Prosecutors contended he failed to substantiate his defense of operating under coercion. Merchant attempted to convince jurors he simply believed the agents wouldn’t accept his explanation because they appeared to “think that I am some type of super-spy,” which he insisted he was “absolutely not.”

Merchant now faces a potential life sentence in federal prison.