Pak man charged with plot to assassinate US official

NEW YORK:

A Pakistani man with ties to Iran has been charged for allegedly plotting to assassinate a US official in retaliation for the US killing of Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

Asif Raza Merchant, 46, allegedly sought to hire a hitman to assassinate a politician or a US government official in the United States, the Justice Department and prosecutors said in a statement.

"As these terrorism and murder for hire charges against Asif Merchant demonstrate, we will continue to hold accountable those who would seek to carry out Iran's lethal plotting against Americans," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

Soleimani, the head of Iran's foreign military operations, was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad in January 2020. Iranian officials have repeatedly vowed to avenge his killing.

"As alleged, Merchant orchestrated a plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials. Today's indictment is a message to terrorists here and abroad," United States Attorney Breon Peace added.

The intended victim was not identified but the attorney general has previously said no evidence has emerged to link Merchant with the July 13 assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the Pakistani national had "close ties to Iran" and that the alleged murder-for-hire plot was "straight out of the Iranian playbook."

Another FBI official said the assassins Merchant allegedly tried to hire were in fact undercover FBI agents.