Who Is Asif Merchant, Pakistani National Arrested In Alleged Iranian Plot To Assassinate Former US President Donald Trump?

Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national, was arrested last month after allegedly paying an undercover U.S. informant on behalf of Iran for a plot to kill Donald Trump. Recent court documents unsealed in Brooklyn federal court revealed that Merchant, 46, was in the U.S. to hire a hitman for an Iranian scheme targeting multiple U.S. officials, with Trump being one of the potential targets, although the documents do not explicitly name him. Merchant was apprehended on June 12, just one day before the attempted assassination on the 78-year-old former president.

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The court documents disclose that Merchant, born in Karachi around 1978, claims to currently reside in Pakistan. He has mentioned having a family in both Pakistan and Iran and has traveled frequently to Iran, Syria, and Iraq. The documents show that Merchant traveled to the U.S. in April 2022 to enlist help for his plot. He made contact with an undercover law enforcement source, who subsequently reported the information to authorities. Merchant later met with the source again in June, providing detailed information about the assassination plan.

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In mid-June, Merchant met with individuals he believed to be hitmen, who were actually undercover law enforcement agents. He provided a $5,000 advance for the assassination before being arrested.