Pakistani National Convicted of Murder-for-Hire, Terror Plot in Federal Court

A federal jury in Brooklyn took less than two hours to convict Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national prosecutors described as a trained operative of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, of murder-for-hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. The verdict, returned on March 6, 2026 in Federal District Court in the Eastern District of New York, capped a more than weeklong trial centered on a foiled IRGC-directed plot to assassinate American political figures, including President Donald Trump.

Merchant, 47, admitted at trial that the IRGC sent him to the United States to arrange political assassinations and steal documents. Prosecutors said he was tasked with recruiting hitmen to target one of three senior U.S. officials. He arrived in the country in April 2024 after spending time in Iran, and by June he was meeting in New York with individuals he believed were contract killers. Those individuals were undercover U.S. law enforcement officers.

The operation came into sharp focus on June 21, 2024, when Merchant handed the undercover officers $5,000 in cash as an advance payment for the planned killing. He had researched the operation himself, conducting online searches for political rally locations and sending reports on security arrangements back to his IRGC handler. After the June meetings, he planned to leave the United States and continue directing the conspiracy from overseas using coded communications. Authorities arrested him on July 12, 2024, before he could board a flight out of the country.

"Iran's terrorist regime sent Asif Merchant here to sow mayhem and murder," said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. of the Eastern District of New York. "Thanks to the vigilance of our law enforcement partners, his scheme ended in failure. Today, with Merchant's conviction, that failure is complete."

Attorney General Pamela Bondi was equally direct in a DOJ statement: "This man landed on American soil hoping to kill President Trump — instead, he was met with the might of American law enforcement."

FBI Director Kash Patel noted the case fit a documented pattern of Iranian aggression on U.S. soil. "This was not the first attempt by Iran to harm our citizens on U.S. soil; the other efforts also failed," Patel said. "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."

Defense attorney Christopher Neff told the BBC he was "disappointed in the result" but said the fight was not over. "Nevertheless, as Judge Komitee noted, there are complex and significant legal issues yet to be decided. We remain confident that we will ultimately achieve a favorable result for Mr. Merchant," Neff said.

Merchant now faces up to life in prison ahead of a sentencing hearing that has not yet been scheduled.