Who Is Asif Merchant? Pakistani Man Convicted in Iran-Linked Plot To Assassinate Donald Trump

Brooklyn: The Department of Justice has convicted Asif Raza Merchant, a 48-year-old Pakistani national with deep ties to the Iranian government, on Friday, for planning a murder-for-hire plot targeting high-profile U.S. officials, including US President Donald Trump.

After a week-long trial that revealed a conspiracy of international plotting, Merchant now faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

The Architect and the Motive

Asif Merchant, a former banker who turned into an international trader, was identified by U.S. authorities as a trained operative for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

During the trial, prosecutors found that the plot was a direct attempt by the Iranian regime to avenge the 2020 death of Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC commander killed in a U.S. drone strike.

The trial in the New York City borough of Brooklyn started last week, days before Trump ordered drone strikes on Iran, carried out with Israel, which has led to the region's biggest war in years.

While Merchant testified that he was pressurised into the scheme to protect his family in Tehran, evidence presented by the Department of Justice unfolded a different picture: a calculated operative who expected to earn up to $1 million for his role.

How the Conspiracy Was Hatched?

The plot began in late 2022 when Merchant received training in intelligence tradecraft, including countersurveillance, in Iran. 

In April 2024, he arrived in the United States from Pakistan with a three-part mission: steal sensitive documents or USB drives from a target’s home, organise staged protests at political rallies to create chaos, execute the “finger gun” plan, and murder a top political figure.

Law enforcement prevented the plan before any attack occurred. A person Merchant contacted in April 2024 to help with the plot reported his activities and became a confidential informant, the DOJ said. The merchant was arrested ⁠and pleaded not guilty that year.

The Revolutionary Guards have a central role in Iran, military and economic power and an intelligence network. Tehran has denied accusations that it targeted Trump or other ⁠U.S. officials.

The merchant’s primary target was identified as Donald Trump, though the list also included then-President Joe Biden and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley.

The FBI’s Sting Operation

The scheme came to light quickly after Merchant contacted an acquaintance in New York, Nadeem Ali, to help recruit Mafia-style hitmen. Unknown to Merchant, Ali reported the encounter to the FBI and became a confidential source.

In June 2024, at a motel in Queens, Merchant met with two men he believed were professional assassins, who were actually undercover FBI agents. 

In a chilling demonstration captured on hidden cameras, Merchant used a napkin and an orange vape to sketch out how the hitmen should shoot the target at a rally. 

Merchant was arrested on July 12, 2024, while preparing to flee the country. His conviction on charges of murder-for-hire and terrorism exceeding national boundaries marks a significant victory for U.S. counter-intelligence.

U.S. and Israeli attacks since Saturday have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran's U.N. ambassador. Many top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali ⁠Khamenei, have been killed.

The U.S. military has said six of its service members were killed in a strike on a facility in Kuwait, while Israeli tallies show at least 10 civilians have been killed across Israel.

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