A Pakistani national with Iranian ties was arrested in the US for allegedly attempting to assassinate US public officials, including former President Donald Trump.
The complaint was filed in a New York federal court against Asif Merchant, 46, for conspiring to murder US officials.
Someone Merchant hired in April decided not to carry out the plan and became an informant.
The assassination was intended to be of a “political person” in August or September.
Merchant was arrested while attempting to leave the country and hiring a group of people to carry out the attack, but instead, they were undercover agents.
Attorney General Merrick Garland cited as a possible motive, “For years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran’s brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Soleimani.”
Soleimani was assassinated during the Trump Administration and is something Trump has spoken about publicly.
