Asif Merchant, a suspected spy pretending to be an international clothing salesman, went around Brooklyn in early June, visiting nightclubs in search of help for an alleged assassination plot connected to Iran. Originally from Pakistan with ties to Iran, he aimed to target a U.S. politician, possibly former President Trump. The plan involved two hit men, 25 actors for a fake protest, and a woman for reconnaissance.
Merchant, 46, also planned to steal documents and USB drives. However, the person he thought was his main accomplice informed authorities and introduced him to two undercover agents posing as hit men. He traveled to Iran and then the U.S., where he shared his plans with a confidential source and received a $5,000 advance payment for the assassins.
Fortunately, the hit men Merchant tried to hire turned out to be undercover FBI agents. While waiting to meet them, he searched for potential conspirators in New York City clubs. He used a yarn-dyed clothing business as a front for communication and used clothing items as code words for different parts of the crime.
Merchant’s coded language included fabric weights to represent various tasks like a fake protest, document theft, and murder. He was arrested in Texas on July 12, a day before a separate incident involving Thomas Crooks at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. Investigators found no links between Crooks and Merchant.
His potential targets included individuals from both political sides. The actors were supposed to stage protests, and Merchant discussed various scenarios for the targets’ deaths with the undercover agents. He claimed the targets were those hurting Pakistan and the Muslim world.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations stated that diplomats had not been briefed on the matter by American officials. Authorities have been on high alert for retaliation against former President Trump and other officials following the 2020 airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, responsible for numerous American and allied troop casualties.
Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized the Justice Department’s commitment to countering Iran’s efforts to retaliate against American officials. In a similar incident in 2022, an Iranian agent was charged with attempting to have former White House national security adviser John Bolton killed for $300,000.
Merchant faces a federal murder-for-hire charge and is being transferred to New York. Federal prosecutors requested that he be held without bail. The Justice Department continues to work tirelessly to disrupt and hold accountable those involved in lethal plots against American citizens, ensuring the safety of public officials and national security.
