'I had no other option': 47-yr-old Pakistani national claims Iranian agents asked him to kill Trump, Biden

A Pakistani national accused of plotting to assassinate prominent American political figures told a federal court that Iranian intelligence operatives recruited him for the mission and threatened his family to force his cooperation.

The accused, 47-year-old Asif Merchant, claimed in his testimony before jurors in a Brooklyn federal courtroom. According to his statement, he was pushed into the plan after being warned that his relatives would face consequences if he refused to comply.

"I had no other option. My family was threatened," Merchant told jurors during the hearing.

Prosecutors allege that Merchant attempted to arrange the killings of several senior US political figures, including President Donald Trump, former president Joe Biden and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley.

Authorities say Merchant approached two individuals he believed were hired killers and offered them $5,000 to carry out the attacks. The men, however, were undercover FBI agents who had been monitoring the alleged scheme.

According to the court documents, the alleged plot unfolded over several months in 2024, eventually leading to Merchant's arrest in August that year. Merchant described himself as a former banker whose banana export business had failed.

He said an Iranian contact first approached him in 2024 and instructed him to travel to the United States. According to Merchant, the handler suggested he might need to "have somebody murdered."

"He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he named three people to me: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley," Merchant told the court.

The suspect identified the handler as Mehrdad Yousef, whom he claimed was linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Merchant alleged that the man pressured him into cooperating by threatening relatives living in Iran.

During the trial, prosecutors presented surveillance footage recorded by FBI cameras. The video reportedly shows Merchant meeting the undercover agents inside a motel in Queens in June 2024.

In the recording, he can be heard discussing the potential killing of a Republican politician, believed by investigators to be Trump. At one point, he allegedly says, "This is the target. How will it die?"

Authorities also said Merchant was instructed not only to organise the assassination but also to obtain certain unspecified documents.

Merchant told jurors that he never believed the plan would succeed and expected law enforcement to intervene before anything could happen.

"I didn't think I would be able to be successful," he said. He also acknowledged that the payment he allegedly offered the supposed hitmen was unrealistically low for such an operation.

"I was aware that nobody does anybody's murder for that amount," he testified. Merchant further claimed that he anticipated being caught and intended to reveal the plan to the authorities.

"I had a feeling there would come a time when I would be found out and arrested," he told the court. "I was going to tell the government," he added, explaining that he believed cooperating might help him obtain a US Green Card.

Merchant has pleaded not guilty to charges that include terrorism and murder-for-hire. Prosecutors are expected to continue questioning him during cross-examination. If convicted, he could face a life sentence.