Brooklyn, New York — A Pakistani businessman on trial for allegedly plotting to assassinate Donald Trump testified that he was forced into the plan by members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who threatened his family.
Asif Merchant, 47, told a federal jury he agreed to travel to the United States in 2024 and recruit criminals for a broader operation only because he feared harm to his wife and adopted daughter in Tehran. Testifying through an interpreter, Merchant said he acted under pressure from an Iranian official he identified as Mehrdad Yousef.
According to court testimony, Merchant was instructed to help coordinate protests, steal documents, move money, and arrange a political assassination. The alleged targets included Trump, then-President Joe Biden, and former presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Prosecutors say Merchant knowingly worked with a designated terrorist organization and outlined the plan in meetings with individuals he believed were hired criminals. Those individuals were actually undercover FBI agents.
Merchant was arrested in Texas in July 2024 before returning to Pakistan. Federal prosecutors argue there is no evidence supporting his claim that he acted under duress.
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