US charges man with alleged ties to Iran in foiled assassination plot

7/8/2024 6:16

        A Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran has been charged in the United States in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. politician or government officials, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
        
        Asif Merchant, 46, sought to recruit people in the United States to carry out the plot in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' top commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020, according to a criminal complaint.
        
        Merchant, who prosecutors allege spent time in Iran before traveling to the United States from Pakistan, was charged with murder for hire in federal court in New York's Brooklyn borough. A federal judge ordered him detained on July 17, according to court records.
        
        "For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.