Businessman Asif Merchant, accused of organizing an assassination plot against US President Donald Trump, claimed he participated in the plot under pressure from Iran.
“Elchi” reports that “The Guardian” published this information from a Brooklyn courtroom in New York.
According to Merchant, he agreed to cooperate with Iran because the Iranians threatened to kill his wife and adopted daughter.
In his testimony, Merchant stated that Merdad Yousef, an IRGC (SEPAH) employee working with him, ordered him to go to the US in 2024 and, among other things, find criminals there to organize a contract killing. According to the accused, he was not told a specific target. Then-US President Joe Biden, Donald Trump, and Republican Party representative Nikki Haley were named as possible targets.
The plan failed when Merchant gave $5,000 to potential killers who turned out to be Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents. He was arrested in the summer of 2024 as he was preparing to leave Texas. His trial began last week.