The United States media has said that a Pakistani man, who was accused of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump, has blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards for pressuring him. Asif Raza Merchant said he was pressured to devise a murder-for-hire scheme. The Pakistani man was charged in September 2024 with seeking to hire a contract killer to assassinate unidentified US politicians. According to the Washington Post, Raza Merchant said, “My family was under threat, and I had to do this. Asif Raza Merchant is a Pakistani national who frequently travels to Iran, Iraq and Syria, his travel records said, as per the Department of Justice.

Source: Mint March 05, 2026 12:56 UTC