An alleged plan by an Iranian operative to hire hitmen to assassinate US officials, including potentially former President Donald Trump, has been revealed through sources and a federal criminal complaint.
Asif Merchant, a 46-year-old Pakistani national, is accused of organizing political assassinations in New York City around August or early September. He reportedly paid $5,000 in advances to individuals he believed were professional killers, according to Breon Peace, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
A law enforcement source told The NY Post, “The Iranian indicted in Eastern District today is 100% an agent of the Iranian government.”
The planned attacks were allegedly in response to the 2020 killing of high-ranking Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, ordered by Trump, confirmed US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday.
Law enforcement sources informed The Post that Trump has previously been a target of Iranian-backed assassination attempts, and they suspect he was one of Merchant’s intended targets. However, Merchant never revealed the identity of the intended victim during his meetings with undercover agents, only stating that the target would have “a lot of security.”
Merchant reportedly traveled to New York in June to meet with the supposed hitmen, who were actually undercover law enforcement officers. He informed them he was arranging the funds through a contact overseas, as per the US Attorney’s office.
In the following days, he returned with the advance money and allegedly confirmed to the undercover agents that the plan was moving forward, prosecutors said.
Merchant was arrested on July 12 while preparing to leave the US.
Prior to his encounter with undercover agents, Merchant had visited the US multiple times, frequenting seedy venues like strip clubs and bars in search of criminals to recruit for his plot, law enforcement sources said.
He eventually met a man who reported him to the FBI, leading to the undercover operation.
While unknowingly meeting with undercover agents, Merchant sketched possible assassination plans on napkins and confirmed “Yes, absolutely” when asked if the exchange of funds meant the plans were to proceed, according to court documents.
One scheme involved staging a protest of about 25 people to serve as a distraction after the assassination, according to court documents.
Authorities intervened before the plot could be executed.
After his arrest, Merchant disclosed that he had a wife and children in Iran and another wife and children in Pakistan, according to prosecutors.
One of his residences is located in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
The revelation of the Iran-backed plot prompted the Secret Service to enhance Trump’s security detail before the attempted assassination on July 13, sources told The Post.
Authorities, however, clarified that Merchant’s case was not connected to Thomas Crooks’ attempt on Trump’s life, where Crooks fired shots from a rooftop in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Nonetheless, Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, criticized the Secret Service’s failure in Butler, Pennsylvania, especially in light of Merchant’s plot targeting former Trump Administration officials, including Trump himself.
“The failure of the Secret Service in Butler, Pennsylvania, is even more outrageous in light of suspected Iranian-backed assassins targeting former Trump Administration officials, including President Trump himself,” Turner stated.
He added, “That day, the threat of sniper attacks was even higher than normal.”
{Matzav.com}