ASIF RAZA MERCHANT (FILE)
WASHINGTON: A Pakistani man arrested in the USA about two months ago has been charged with having link with Iran and trying to assassinate a politician or a senior official in America by hiring a hitman.
According to prosecutors, Asif Merchant, 46, was in the US on a mission to avenge the killing of Iran’s revolutionary guards commander Qasem Sulaimani un a US drone attack in Baghdad in 2020.
They said Merchant was planning to hit his targets in the US in connivance with his accomplices in the government of Iran. He was arrested before he flew out of the US on July 12.
“As alleged, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials. Today’s indictment is a message to terrorists here and abroad,” US Attorney Breon Peace added.
During the investigation, it transpired that Merchant had visited Iran and Iraq frequently. He has two wives and children, in Pakistan and Iran.
Merchant was trapped by FBI agents who pretended to be hired assassins to carry out his plot. According to the Justice Department, Merchant had planned to kill government officials or senior politicians.
Police in the US however said that Merchant had no role in the recent attack on the former president Donald Trump. They said that the suspect had reached the US in April to hire assassin to murder top US officials.
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