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The U.S. government on Tuesday charged a Pakistani man with suspected links to Iran with attempting to assassinate an American politician or official. The 46-year-old suspect, identified by the Justice Department as Asif Merchant, is in U.S. custody.
But the Justice Department did not say which politician the man planned to assassinate. The U.S. Justice Department said police foiled the plot before any attack could be carried out.
According to a criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, Asif Merchant attempted to hire someone to kill someone in the United States in retaliation for the killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Wing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, who was killed by U.S. forces near Baghdad airport in January 2020.
Iran has repeatedly said it would avenge the killing of Soleimani, who was approved by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.
Merchant, who prosecutors said spent time in Iran before traveling to the U.S. from Pakistan, was charged in Brooklyn federal court with recruiting people to carry out the murders. The Justice Department said Merchant contacted a man in April to help him plan the plot, but the man informed police of his activities and became a confidential informant for them.
Last June, Merchant met the would-be killer, who was actually an undercover police officer. Merchant said he received orders to complete the program and leave the party he worked for, the United States.
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