Pakistani citizen Asif Merchant pleads not guilty in alleged plan to kill US official
Pakistani citizen Asif Merchant pleads not guilty in alleged Iran plot to kill US official


New York (AFP): A Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran pleaded not guilty Monday to plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the American military killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a government official in the United States, the Justice Department and prosecutors said in a statement.
A court document showed that Merchant pleaded not guilty to all counts, with a next hearing scheduled for November 6, 2024.
Soleimani, the head of Iran's foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing.
"As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran's lethal plotting against Americans," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said previously.
The intended victim was not identified but the Garland has previously said no evidence has emerged to link Merchant with the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the Pakistani national had "close ties to Iran" and that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was "straight out of the Iranian playbook."
Another FBI official said the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were in fact undercover FBI agents.
"After spending time in Iran, Merchant arrived in the United States from Pakistan and contacted a person he believed could assist him with the scheme to kill a politician or government official," the Justice Department said in a statement.
"That person reported Merchant's conduct to law enforcement and became a confidential source."
Merchant was arrested on July 12 as he planned to leave the country.
Iran's mission to the United Nations said in August it had "not received any report on this from the American government."
"But it is clear that this method is contrary to the Iranian government's policy of pursuing Soleimani's killer," the mission said in a statement carried by Iran's official IRNA news agency.

Eufy’s X10 Pro Omni mopping robovac has returned to its best price to date
- 9 hours ago

Inside Microsoft’s complicated relationship with OpenAI
- 9 hours ago
Naveed Asghar appointed acting Wapda chairman
- 4 hours ago

Elden Ring Nightreign is getting even harder bosses
- 9 hours ago

Max will show autoplaying video previews picked by AI
- 9 hours ago

Gold price soars Rs1,465 per tola in Pakistan
- 4 hours ago
The whiplash of covering Summer Game Fest 2025 in LA
- 9 hours ago

Major relief for salaried class in income tax
- 8 hours ago
'Terrorist' killed, two others wounded in clash with police in DI Khan
- 5 hours ago

Richards saves the day for the USMNT on a night when the frontline couldn't
- 6 hours ago

Teaser of much awaited drama ‘Mein Manto Nahi Hoon’ released
- 4 hours ago

India says it will never restore Indus water treaty with Pakistan
- 5 hours ago