Key Points:

Amid the ongoing US–Israeli conflict against Iran, which resulted in the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, a Pakistani man has been convicted of orchestrating a plot to assassinate US President Donald Trump. On March 6, 2026, Asif Merchant was found guilty of trying to hire hitmen to assassinate the President of the United States and other politicians during the 2024 US presidential campaign. 

According to reports, Merchant’s plan was to avenge the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in 2020 in a US drone strike near Baghdad.

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According to the IANS news agency, Merchant was acting under orders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to plot the murder and will receive life imprisonment when he is sentenced. The attack was planned to take place during the 2024 US presidential election campaign. However, the plan ultimately failed because the Pakistani aide he asked for help turned out to be an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Following Merchant’s verdict, FBI Director Kash Patel claimed that the FBI and its partners had averted a deadly plot. He added, “This was not the first attempt to harm our citizens on US soil; other efforts have also failed.”

The 47-year-old convict was arrested in July 2024 while attempting to flee the US. He was charged the following month. On March 3, 2026, War Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the mastermind behind the plot to murder the POTUS was killed while Merchant was on trial in connection with one of his schemes. The dates for the trial, which began last week in a Brooklyn federal court, were set long before the Iran conflict.

The dates for the trial that started last week in a Brooklyn Federal court in the city were set long before the Iran conflict. The judge presiding over the trial, Eric Komitee, remarked about the coincidence, “This trial is happening in interesting times”.

Hegseth did not reveal the identity of the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was killed. “Yesterday, the leader of the unit that attempted to assassinate President Trump was hunted down and killed,” Hegseth said. “President Trump got the last laugh,” he added. Asif Merchant is charged with terrorism-related crimes for allegedly hiring hitmen in a plot to assassinate President Trump.

Asif Merchant reportedly had two wives — one in his homeland, Pakistan, and another in Iran. He visited Iran quite often, as he was recruited by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The prosecution stated that Merchant started working with the IRGC in 2022 or 2023 while he was in Pakistan and was later sent to the United States to look for new recruits for the organisation.

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Nina Gupta, a prosecutor in the case, told the court that Merchant operated under the guise of a clothing business as a cover. He wanted to attack those whom he believed were against the Muslim world and Pakistan.

Merchant told the court that his mission later changed, and he was sent to the US to steal documents, organise protests, and arrange the assassination of one of the three politicians who were targeted. Asif Merchant stated that he was given a list of three people, including Trump, former President Joe Biden, and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley.

Merchant contacted Nadeem Ali to assist him with his operation. Ali later turned out to be an FBI informant who notified the agency. Coincidentally, Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, in Pennsylvania. He was injured in his right ear. The shooter was 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, who fired shots at Trump from a nearby building. In the incident, one member of the audience lost his life and two others were injured.

Inputs from IANS

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