Asif Merchant, also known as “Asif Raza Merchant”, is a 46-year-old Pakistani citizen.

New Delhi:

The United States has charged a Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran for trying to assassinate American politicians.

Federal prosecutors said that 46-year-old Asif Merchant conspired to kill an unknown politician or US government official on American soil.

Due to this case, the US government has increased the security of former US President Donald Trump and other officials. Although Trump is not specifically named in the criminal complaint, multiple sources have told reporters that Trump was an intended target of the alleged plot.

Who is Asif Merchant?

Asif Merchant, also known as “Asif Raza Merchant”, is a 46-year-old Pakistani national. He has two wives, one each in Pakistan and Iran, and children in both countries.

The US Department of Justice said that according to his travel records, Asif frequently traveled to Iran, Syria and Iraq.

How did Asif conspire?

The plot involved several elements — stealing documents or USB drives from a target’s home, court papers said. Planning protests, and assassinating a politician or government official.

Asif Merchant created code names for each element of the plot – “T-shirt” for protest, “Flannel shirt” for stealing documents, “Wool jacket” for murder, and “Thread Ring” for their meetings.

To persuade the person he contacted first, who informed the authorities, the merchant told him that an uncle of his was in the “yarn dyeing” business in Pakistan and that he could do business with them. are

For his plans, Asif Merchant hired people he thought were hitmen, but who were actually secret agents. He asked a government source who he thought was an assassin for hire to explain how the “target” would die in various scenarios.

How did his plot fail?

Asif Merchant’s plot fails as he tries to recruit FBI agents for the assassination.

He was arrested on July 12 as he was preparing to catch a flight out of the country.

In mid-June, Merchant met with what he thought were the attackers. They were undercover US law enforcement officers (UCs) in New York.

He told them he wanted them to steal documents, organize protests at political rallies, and kill a “political figure”.

Merchant told undercover officers that the plot would be carried out after he left the country, and that they would be told who the target was in the last week of August or the first week of September.

The merchant arranged to pay USD 5,000 in cash as an advance for the assassination services and successfully made the payment on June 21.

After this transaction, he planned to leave the country on July 12, 2024, the day before Donald Trump’s assassination. However, law enforcement intervened and arrested him before he could leave, the court document said.

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