New York [US], March 7 : Asif Merchant, a Pakistani accused of plotting with Iranian authorities to assassinate US President Donald Trump has been convicted by a court in Brooklyn, reported the New York Times. Merchant was found guilty of attempted terrorism and murder for hire by the Federal District Court.
Earlier, Merchant testified that Iranian intelligence operatives coerced him into a plot targeting Donald Trump and Joe Biden, the New York Post reported. Asif Merchant, provided his account in court on Wednesday, claiming he was pressured into the scheme to protect his relatives.
During his testimony to the Brooklyn federal court, he stated that he felt compelled to act. "I had no other options. My family was threatened," Merchant informed the jury. The accused, a former banker, allegedly paid USD 5,000 to two undercover FBI agents who were masquerading as assassins.
According to the New York Post, Merchant claimed that an Iranian handler instructed him in April 2024 to travel to the United States to "maybe to have somebody murdered. While the handler allegedly did not specify a single individual initially, Merchant testified that three names were provided.
"He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he named three people to me: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley," he explained.
At that time, Trump and Biden were the frontrunners for the 2024 presidential race. Merchant, claimed he was already involved in helping the Iranian regime evade sanctions through money laundering. The New York Post noted that he identified his handler as Mehrdad Yousef, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The trial and judgement comes as the US-Israel continued to strike on Iran and the Islamic regime responding with counter attacks targeting US assets in the region.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Friday (US local time) praised the military operations being undertaken by the United States in Iran and claimed that the Persian Gulf country has lost its army, navy and communications along with its leaders. He made the remarks while speaking during a round table on collegiate sports in the White House.
Trump told the press, "We're doing very by the way, in Iran. Somebody said, how would you score it from zero to 10? I said I'd give it a 12 to a 15. Their army is gone. Their Navy is gone. Their communications are gone. Their leaders are gone. Two sets of their leaders are gone. They're down to their third set. Their air forces wiped out entirely. Think of it. They have 32 ships. All 32 are at the bottom of the ocean."
Saturday is day 7 of the conflict in West Asia and with neither side relenting the conflict shows no sign of abating.
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