- Pakistani man Asif Merchant is on trial for 'plotting to kill' Trump, Biden, Haley
- He claims Iranian spies forced him to join the plot to protect his family
- Merchant testified he helped IRGC launder money and was ordered to assassinate
A Pakistani man on trial for 'plotting to kill' US President Donald Trump, former President Joe Biden, and ex-governor Nikki Hayley, reportedly told jurors that Iranian spies had "forced" him to do so and that he did not willingly work with Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The US Justice Department has accused Asif Merchant (47) of trying to recruit people in the country in the plan to target Trump and other top politicians in retaliation for Washington's 2020 killing of the Corps' top commander, Qassem Soleimani. Trump and Biden were the leading candidates in the 2024 presidential election at the time, and Haley had dropped out of the race a month earlier.
Merchant, who he said was a former banker with a failed export business, claimed that he had to be a part of the plot to "save his family", reported the New York Post. "I had no other options. My family was threatened. I was not wanting to do this so willingly," he told the court during his trial for terrorism and murder-for-hire charges.
According to Merchant, he began working with the "Iranian spies" in late 2022 or early 2023 - helping them launder money to evade US sanctions. He reportedly testified that his Iranian spy handler - whom he named as Mehrdad Yousef (a member of the IRGC) - ordered him to go to the US in 2024 to carry out the assassination plot as well as steal unidentified documents.
"He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he named three people to me: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Nikki Haley," he said, reported the New York Post, adding that he claimed to do so only because Yousef had put "pressure" on his Iranian relatives.
"My family was under threat, and I had to do this," he told the court.
Merchant's wife and three children live in Pakistan, the report added.
Merchant was arrested in 2024 when the FBI's secret security cameras caught him inside a motel describing plans to kill a politician. According to the Pakistani native, he knew he would be arrested, adding that he was "mentally ready" and "wanted to tell the US authorities" about the plot.
"I was going to tell the government. I wanted to apply for a green card," he reportedly said.
Merchant went on trial last week, days before Trump ordered strikes on Iran carried out with Israel that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials. Trump cited an alleged Iranian plot for the attack, saying, "I got him (Khamenei) before he got me".
If convicted, Merchant could face life in prison.
