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U.S. Charges Pakistani with Iran Ties in Murder Plot Against Trump, U.S. Officials

(CBS News) Robert Legare - Asif Merchant, 46, a Pakistani national with ties to Iran, was arrested and charged with plotting to murder current and former U.S. government officials including former president and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, according to charges unsealed Tuesday. U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials including FBI Director Christopher Wray have been investigating numerous threat streams from Iran against politicians and government officials that date back to the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in 2020. Merchant flew to the U.S. in April, according to court documents, to "recruit individuals to carry out his plot to assassinate U.S. government officials." "People who will be targeted are the ones who are hurting Pakistan and the world, [the] Muslim world," Merchant allegedly said. Law enforcement officials arrested Merchant on July 12 at his residence ahead of a planned trip outside of the U.S. "For years, the Justice Department has been working to aggressively counter Iran's brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American government officials for the killing of General Soleimani," Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday. "The Justice Department will spare no resource to disrupt and hold accountable those who would carry out Iran's lethal plotting against Americans."
2024-08-08 00:00:00
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