A Pakistani man, accused of plotting to assassinate United States President Donald Trump, has blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards for pressurising him to plot, several media outlets in the US have reported.
The man has been identified as Asif Raza Merchant, 47. He was charged in September 2024 for seeking to hire a hitman to get unidentified US politicians assassinated. He has pleaded not guilty in his testimony, while blaming Iran elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards.
-
NDTV Profit Ignite 2026: Experts See Opportunity In Equities, Stay Bullish For Long-Term -
Buy Right, Sit Tight Does Not Work for Individual Stocks, Says Dinshaw Irani -
'Worst Is Behind': Quant MF Sees Market Bottom, Flags 'Extreme Euphoria' In Midcaps -
India's Mutual Fund Industry Could Become A $1 Trillion Opportunity, Say Fund Managers -
'Foreign Investors Are Baraatis': Raamdeo Agrawal's Take On LTCG Tax -
Stay Invested Through Market Cycles: Raamdeo Agrawal at NDTV Profit Ignite -
Ramesh Damani Remains Bullish On India For Next 20-30 Years, Sees Bargains Amid Market Weakness -
CAS Came After A Long Consultation Process: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey AT NDTV PROFIT IGNITE -
Aim To Cut FPI Onboarding Time From Mth To Five Days: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey AT NDTV PROFI -
"I Am A Material Man In A Material World': Quantum Advisors' Ajit Dayal On NDTV Profit Ignite
He had run into some Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sleuths, who posed as killers for hire, as Raza was trying to approach hitmen for the job.
Raza has testified on Wednesday in a US court, where he said that he was trying to protect his family, who are residing in the Iranian capital, Tehran. He has said that he thought he would get caught before anyone was killed, media outlets in the US have reported.
“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” he testified in Urdu, which was translated by an Urdu interpreter. The Washington Post has reported, “I did not want to do this willingly.”
He has further said in his testimony that he was not ordered to kill a specific person, but said that his Iranian contact had mentioned three people in connection to the plot: Trump, former President Joe Biden, and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.
Raza's trial comes amid the US-Iran war, wherein the two sides have repeatedly carried out strikes against each other. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, was assassinated in the US-Israel strikes on Tehran on February 28.
Since Tehran has been carrying out airstrikes deep into Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and some other countries.
The US officials had previously maintained that Raza has “close ties to Iran” and described his alleged plot as “straight out of the Iranian regime's playbook.”
The allegations by the US officials have been confirmed by Raza, who had earlier said that he started working with a member of the Guards in about 2022. He has said that the man had asked him if he was “interested in doing some work with the Iranian government,” the New York Times has reported.
Subsequently, the man Raza came in touch with instructed him to orchestrate a plot involving arranging protests, stealing documents, laundering money, and having “someone” killed.
Also Read: Who Is Mohammad Pakpour? Israel Claims Revolutionary Guard Commander Killed In Iran Strikes
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.