The would-be assassin was sent to the United States to recruit individuals for carrying out attacks.
A federal jury convicted Asif Raza Merchant, a trained operative of the Iranian regime’s global terrorist force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, for attempting to arrange political assassinations, according to a March 6 statement from the Justice Department.
Merchant, a Pakistani national, was apprehended on July 12, 2024, when he was setting out to leave the United States after failing in his attempt to murder high-ranking U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump. He conspired with undercover agents, who posed as assassins, in a retaliatory scheme against the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
“This man landed on American soil hoping to kill President Trump—instead, he was met with the might of American law enforcement,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said.
According to the latest Department of Justice (DOJ) statement, Merchant admitted, at trial, that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sent him to the United States to arrange for political assassinations and steal documents. He has been convicted for attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, and murder for hire, and faces up to life in prison.
Merchant began working for the IRGC in Pakistan around 2022–2023, receiving training in espionage techniques, including countersurveillance, after which he was sent to the United States to look for potential IRGC recruits, the DOJ statement said.
IRGC was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of State in 2019.
In 2024, Merchant was sent to the United States for recruiting “Mafia” members for the purposes of stealing documents, staging protests, and arranging the murder of one of three specific U.S. government officials and politicians. More details on the politicians were not given by the department.
“Merchant tried to hire someone to kill a politician or a U.S. government official, but the FBI and our partners stopped that deadly plot,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “This was not the first attempt by Iran to harm our citizens on U.S. soil; the other efforts also failed. Let this verdict serve as a reminder that the FBI is committed to detecting such threats and preventing acts of violence, and we will hold accountable anyone who tries to interfere with our democratic system.”
Merchant’s conviction comes as War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on March 4 that a leader of an Iranian unit that allegedly tried to assassinate Trump has been “hunted down and killed.” Hegseth did not name the individual.
Iran “tried to kill President Trump, and President Trump got the last laugh,” Hegseth told reporters. “We’ve known for a long time that Iran had intentions on trying to kill President Trump and or other U.S. officials.”
“And while that was not the focus of the effort by any stretch of the imagination … I ensured, and others ensured that those who were responsible for that were eventually part of the target list.”
