US charges man with alleged ties to Iran in foiled assassination plot

A Pakistani man with alleged ties to Iran has been charged in the United States in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a US politician or government officials, the Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Asif Merchant, 46, sought to recruit people in the United States to carry out the plot in retaliation for the US killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ top commander Qassem Soleiman in 2020, according to a criminal complaint.

Merchant, who prosecutors allege spent time in Iran before traveling to the United States...