Asif Merchant, also known as Asif Raza Merchant, was charged by the US government with trying to carry out a murder-for-hire plot to kill a politician or other US government official on US soil as well as an act of terrorism that would cross international borders.
According to a press release from the US Department of Justice, law officials thwarted the conspiracy before any assault could be executed. In July 2024, the merchant was first detained and charged after receiving a complaint. Merchant is presently in federal custody after being placed under detention order.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland declared, “The Justice Department will not tolerate Iran’s efforts to target our country’s public officials and endanger our national security.” “As these accusations of terrorism and murder for pay against Asif Merchant show,
