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Pakistani Man on Trial for Iran-Linked Assassination Plots

2/26/2026

Summary

Story summary

Asif Merchant, a 47-year-old Pakistani man, is on trial in Brooklyn for allegedly using a clothing business to facilitate assassination plots linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Prosecutors assert he sought to hire hit men to target figures, including then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Merchant was arrested in July 2024 while trying to leave the U.S., amid rising concerns over Iranian threats against Trump following Qassim Suleimani's 2020 killing.
He faces a potential life sentence if convicted on terrorism charges.

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Story summary

Asif Merchant, a 47-year-old Pakistani man, is on trial in Brooklyn for allegedly using a clothing business to facilitate assassination plots linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Prosecutors assert he sought to hire hit men to target figures, including then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Merchant was arrested in July 2024 while trying to leave the U.S., amid rising concerns over Iranian threats against Trump following Qassim Suleimani's 2020 killing.
He faces a potential life sentence if convicted on terrorism charges.