In a recent court hearing, it was disclosed that a botched plot, allegedly linked to Iran, to assassinate Donald Trump was scribbled on a napkin and later exposed to undercover FBI operatives at a strip club in New York.
The peculiar scheme, which was thwarted early on, came to light following statements by Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Secretary of War, asserting that the US had eliminated the leader of an Iranian group involved in a planned assassination plot against the President. Hegseth, during a recent press briefing, indicated that he had targeted the group responsible for the Iran-connected conspiracy to kill the US President, resulting in the group leaders’ demise in a recent operation. However, specific details such as the target’s identity, the group involved, and the plot specifics were not disclosed.
This incident draws parallels to the case of Asif Merchant, a Pakistani individual facing terrorism charges in a Federal court in Brooklyn for allegedly planning to assassinate US officials in June 2024, prior to Trump’s return to office. Merchant, aged 47, has pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted terrorism and related offenses.
The alleged assassination plan unfolded in a budget hotel in Queens, New York, where Merchant outlined the scheme to Nadeem Ali, whom he believed to be a co-conspirator but was actually an informant working with the FBI. On a napkin, Merchant reportedly detailed his desire for the assassination to occur at a political or Republican rally, carried out by individuals capable of long-distance shooting. Subsequently, Ali introduced Merchant to two supposed hitmen, who were, in fact, undercover FBI agents.
During a court session last week in Brooklyn, recordings were played indicating that Merchant discussed elements of his plan with the undercover agents at a New York strip club, following which he handed them a sum of $5,000 in cash during a meeting at a Manhattan rooftop restaurant. Merchant was apprehended a month later as he attempted to leave the US.
In subsequent testimony, an FBI agent mentioned that Merchant claimed to have a contact within Iran’s Revolutionary Guard who he believed would finance the plot, although his defense team raised doubts about the veracity of these assertions. The Revolutionary Guard, officially known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been a significant entity in Iran and was associated with the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed in a recent US-Israeli operation. The US designates the Revolutionary Guard as a “foreign terrorist organization.” Merchant purportedly expected his handler to reimburse the $5,000 provided to the supposed hitmen, who were, in reality, undercover FBI agents.
Merchant, who asserted that his visits to Iran were for religious purposes and family visits, has children in Iran. Nonetheless, when he was indicted in 2024, former FBI director Christopher Wray characterized the plot as a tactic straight from the playbook of the Iranian regime.
Merchant was apprehended the day prior to the purported assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Although officials initially stated that the gunman acted independently, they acknowledged monitoring a threat from Iran against Trump’s life. The Iranian government has consistently denied involvement in any plot to harm Trump.
The trial is ongoing.
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