Pakistani Defendant Testifies Iranian Forces Forced Him into Alleged Trump Assassination Scheme
Asif Merchant, a 47-year-old Pakistani businessman, took the witness stand in his own defense at Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday, delivering dramatic testimony that he was coerced into an alleged plot to assassinate former President Donald Trump by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Speaking through an Urdu translator, Merchant told jurors that Iranian officials threatened his wife and adopted daughter in Tehran to secure his participation in what prosecutors describe as a terrorism and murder-for-hire scheme.
"I Was Not Wanting to Do This So Willingly"
Merchant testified that his Iranian handler, identified as Revolutionary Guard official Mehrdad Yousef, directed him to travel to the United States in 2024 and recruit criminals for a four-part operation. The alleged plan involved staging protests, stealing documents, laundering money, and ultimately arranging a murder. While Yousef reportedly didn't specify a single target during their conversations in Tehran, he named three potential victims: Donald Trump, then-President Joe Biden, and former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
"I was not wanting to do this so willingly," Merchant told the court, explaining that he participated only out of fear for his family's safety in Iran. He described feeling trapped from the moment he arrived in the United States, claiming that when immigration agents pulled him aside in Houston, searched his belongings, and examined his electronic devices, he immediately realized he was under surveillance.
Undercover Operation and Recorded Evidence
Unbeknownst to Merchant, the supposed hitmen he eventually paid $5,000 in rubber-banded cash were actually undercover FBI agents. A recording played in court captured Merchant telling the agents he needed someone to "maybe, you can, say, kill someone"—a political figure whose identity he claimed he hadn't yet been given. Prosecutors presented additional evidence showing Merchant mapping out details of the plot on a napkin in a Queens hotel room, apparently unaware that cameras were recording his actions.
Federal prosecutors have vigorously challenged Merchant's duress defense, stating in a Wednesday filing that there is no evidence supporting his claims of coercion. They emphasized that Merchant acknowledged knowing he was working with a designated terrorist organization and proceeded with the plot despite opportunities to withdraw. The prosecution's case relies heavily on intelligence from Nadeem Ali, an acquaintance of Merchant who had been secretly working as an FBI informant throughout the investigation.
Broader Geopolitical Context
The trial opened last week against the backdrop of escalating tensions between the United States and Iran. Just before proceedings began, U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and reportedly more than 1,000 others, according to human rights monitors. On Wednesday, Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that a U.S. strike had also killed the Iranian official whom the Trump administration alleges ran the 2024 assassination plot against the president. It remains unclear whether this individual was connected to Merchant's alleged handlers.
Donald Trump alluded to the alleged plot when commenting on Khamenei's death, telling ABC News: "I got him before he got me." Iran has consistently denied targeting Trump or other American officials. Merchant was arrested on July 12, 2024, in Texas as he prepared to return to Pakistan, and now faces serious terrorism charges in a case that highlights the complex intersection of international relations, national security, and individual accountability.
