A Pakistani business owner who tried to hire hit men to kill a U.S. politician has been convicted in a trial that showcased allegations of Iran-backed plotting on American soil. A jury delivered its verdict against Asif Merchant on Friday. Merchant acknowledged in a U.S. court that he sought to put an assassination in motion during the 2024 presidential campaign. He testified that he was acting on instructions from a contact in the Islamic Republic’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. Merchant said the handler broached possible targets including then-candidate Donald Trump, then-President Joe Biden and Nikki Haley, the former U.N. ambassador and presidential hopeful. The Iranian government has denied trying to kill U.S. officials.
