A federal jury in Brooklyn has convicted Asif Merchant, also known as Asif Raza Merchant, of murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism that crossed national borders. Merchant, identified as a trained operative for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), admitted during the trial that he was sent to the United States in 2024 by the IRGC to organize political assassinations. Law enforcement intervened before any attack took place.
Merchant arrived in the U.S. in April 2024 and met with individuals he believed were hitmen in June. These individuals were actually undercover law enforcement officers based in New York. Authorities arrested Merchant before he could leave the country in July 2024. He now faces a possible life sentence.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi commented on the verdict: “This man landed on American soil hoping to kill President Trump — instead, he was met with the might of American law enforcement. The Department of Justice will remain ever-vigilant to protect Americans, prosecute terrorists, and halt acts of terrorism before they happen.”
United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr., for the Eastern District of New York, stated: “Iran’s terrorist regime sent Asif Merchant here to sow mayhem and murder. Thanks to the vigilance of our law enforcement partners, his scheme ended in failure. Today, with Merchant’s conviction, that failure is complete. Our Office will always remain vigilant in our mission to protect the United States from foreign terrorist adversaries.”
Nocella also thanked several FBI field offices across Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago and Albany for their collaboration on this case. Additional appreciation was extended to the FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, New York City Police Department, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge at the FBI’s New York Field Office said: “At the direction of the Iranian regime, Asif Merchant plotted to assassinate a United States politician or government official on American soil. This foiled scheme motivated by vengeance for U.S. actions against the Iranian regime sought to strike at the heart of our democracy. May today’s conviction illustrate the FBI’s resolute commitment to protect the homeland from the Iranian regime’s craven efforts to wage terror on the American people.”
Evidence presented at trial included testimony from Merchant himself who described his recruitment by IRGC around late 2022 or early 2023 and training received in intelligence tradecraft such as countersurveillance techniques. In late 2023 he traveled repeatedly between Iran and other locations while searching for potential recruits within America.
In 2024 Merchant returned with orders from IRGC handlers specifically targeting three U.S officials or politicians as retribution for Qasem Soleimani’s death; among those discussed were President Donald J. Trump, President Joseph Biden and Ambassador Nikki Haley—with Trump named as a primary target according to testimony.
Merchant approached an acquaintance in New York about his plan but that individual reported him to authorities and acted as a confidential source (CS). During meetings with this source merchant described assassination scenarios using coded language and gestures indicating intent.
Later meetings involved undercover officers posing as hitmen whom Merchant offered $5,000 upfront for services including theft of documents, organizing protests at rallies and carrying out an assassination after his departure from America.
Authorities arrested Merchant on July 12th just prior to his planned exit from America.
The prosecution was managed by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara K. Winik, Nina C. Gupta and Gilbert Rein along with support from Deputy Chief Paul Casey and former Trial Attorney Jessica Joyce from DOJ’s Counterterrorism Section.
The U.S Attorney’s Office for Eastern District of New York covers Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau County and Suffolk County; it prosecutes federal crimes and represents civil matters within these areas (official website). The office operates out of Brooklyn and Central Islip locations (official website) under leadership currently noted as Breon Peace (official website). The office also supports community outreach programs (official website).
Merchant is listed as age 48 with connections both to Karachi (Pakistan) and Tehran (Iran).
