Asif Merchant, 47, was accused of trying to recruit people in the US in a plan targeting Donald Trump and others after Washington's killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Then president Joe Biden and Nikki Haley, who ran against Donald Trump that year for the Republican presidential nomination, were also targeted in the 2024 plot. Merchant was convicted of 'murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries' at the behest of Iranian authorities, according to the Department of Justice.
Tehran has denied accusations that it sought to kill Donald Trump or other US officials. Merchant admitted to joining the plot with Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, but testified he did so to protect his family in Tehran. Merchant said he was never ordered to kill a specific person, but that his handler named three people during conversations in the Iranian capital.
Police thwarted the plot before any attack took place. A person Merchant contacted in April 2024 to assist with the plot reported his activities and became a confidential informant. Merchant was arrested and pleaded not guilty that year.
The Revolutionary Guards have a central role in Iran, with a combination of military and economic power and an intelligence network. The exact methods or plans for the assassination attempts have not been disclosed. US and Israeli attacks over the last week have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran's UN ambassador.
Several top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been killed. The US military has said six of its service members were killed in a drone strike on a facility in Kuwait.