Pakistani man on trial over plot against Trump says he acted under pressure

A Pakistani man accused of helping plan the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump told jurors he did not willingly cooperate with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), according to media reports from the courtroom.

The U.S. Justice Department alleges that Asif Merchant attempted to recruit individuals in the United States to carry out a plot targeting Trump and other American politicians. Prosecutors say the plan was intended as retaliation for Washington’s 2020 killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media. 

During testimony on March 4, Merchant denied voluntarily participating in the alleged scheme. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly,” the New York Times quoted him as telling the court during his trial on terrorism and murder-for-hire charges. He added that he cooperated because he feared for the safety of his family living in Tehran.

Prosecutors have rejected the claim that Merchant acted under coercion. In a letter sent to the judge on March 3, they cited a “lack of evidentiary support for a true duress or coercion,” according to court documents reported by the newspaper.

Merchant told the court he was never explicitly ordered to kill a specific individual. However, he said that in conversations in Tehran his Iranian handler mentioned three potential targets: Trump, then-U.S. President Joe Biden, and Nikki Haley, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

Lawyers representing Merchant did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the White House also declined immediate comment.

The trial began last week, just days before Trump ordered strikes on Iran carried out jointly with Israel that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior officials.

Trump referenced an alleged Iranian assassination plot during an interview with ABC News on March 1 when discussing the operation. “I got him before he got me,” he said.

Iran has denied accusations that it planned attacks against Trump or other U.S. officials.

By Sabina Mammadli