IRGC Operative Convicted in Foiled Plot to Assassinate U.S. Political Figures on American Soil

A federal jury has convicted an Iranian intelligence operative who traveled to the United States to arrange political assassinations and other destabilizing operations on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The verdict closes one of the most serious foreign-directed assassination plots uncovered in recent years and highlights the growing concern among U.S. security agencies over state-sponsored terror operations targeting American officials.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Asif Merchant, also known as Asif Raza Merchant, was found guilty of murder-for-hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries after evidence revealed he was sent to the United States by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to coordinate a campaign involving political assassinations, theft of sensitive documents, and staged protest operations designed to destabilize public institutions.

Merchant now faces up to life in federal prison when he is sentenced.

Federal prosecutors established during trial that Merchant operated as a trained intelligence asset working under the direction of Iran’s IRGC, a powerful military and intelligence organization widely recognized for conducting covert operations and proxy warfare abroad. The IRGC oversees several units responsible for foreign intelligence activity and unconventional operations outside Iran’s borders.

Evidence presented during the trial showed that Merchant began cooperating with the IRGC in Pakistan sometime in late 2022 or early 2023, where he reportedly received instruction in operational tradecraft, including counter-surveillance techniques designed to evade intelligence monitoring.

Prosecutors stated that Merchant understood that the IRGC was designated as a terrorist organization and nevertheless agreed to work as an operative.

Investigators determined that Merchant traveled repeatedly between Pakistan and Iran, where he met with a handler associated with the IRGC who directed elements of his mission.

Later in 2023, Merchant was dispatched to the United States to begin identifying individuals who could assist Iranian intelligence operations within the country. According to testimony, his early activities involved searching for potential recruits who could remain inside the United States after he departed.

In April 2024, Merchant returned to the United States with a more direct mission. Prosecutors told the jury that he had been tasked with organizing multiple criminal operations intended to target American political figures and institutions.

Those operations included arranging the theft of documents from a political target’s residence, organizing protests at political events, and coordinating the assassination of a U.S. government official or politician.

The plan began to unravel when Merchant contacted an acquaintance in New York named Nadeem Ali, whom he believed could help him locate individuals capable of carrying out the criminal operations. Instead of assisting him, Ali reported the contact to federal law enforcement and agreed to cooperate as a confidential source.

In early June 2024, Merchant met Ali in New York and described the plot in detail. During the conversation, Merchant reportedly made a hand gesture mimicking a firearm while describing the opportunity he was offering, signaling that the work involved killing a target located within the United States.

Merchant told Ali that security would likely surround the intended victim and began questioning him about different assassination scenarios, asking how a target could be killed under varying security conditions.

Investigators said Merchant also explained that the assassination would take place after he left the United States, and that communication with the individuals carrying out the killing would occur through coded messages from overseas.

Ali later arranged meetings between Merchant and individuals he believed were contract killers. In reality, those individuals were undercover federal law enforcement officers working with the investigation.

During meetings in mid-June 2024, Merchant outlined the services he wanted the supposed hitmen to perform. Prosecutors stated that he asked them to carry out three types of operations: stealing sensitive documents or digital storage devices from a target’s home, organizing demonstrations at political rallies, and assassinating a political figure.

Merchant reportedly told the undercover officers that instructions identifying the assassination target would be delivered after he had safely departed the United States.

During this period, investigators also documented Merchant conducting internet searches related to political rally locations and security arrangements, and transmitting reports about those events to his handler in Iran.

As the plan progressed, Merchant began arranging payment for the assassination. Prosecutors demonstrated that he obtained $5,000 in cash as an advance payment for the killing, which he delivered to the undercover officers during a meeting in New York on June 21, 2024.

During that exchange, the undercover officer confirmed the arrangement by stating that the payment meant the operation was moving forward. Merchant acknowledged the agreement and confirmed the plan.

Shortly afterward, Merchant purchased airline tickets and prepared to leave the United States.

Federal agents arrested him on July 12, 2024, just before his scheduled departure from the country.

Investigators say the arrest prevented the plot from advancing further and disrupted a foreign-directed assassination effort that targeted American officials and institutions.

The case underscores the persistent threat posed by foreign intelligence operations attempting to conduct violence or political disruption inside the United States.

The investigation was conducted by multiple FBI field offices across the country, including teams in Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, and Albany, reflecting the national scope of the counterterrorism effort.

Additional investigative support came from the New York City Police Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and federal prosecutors working in coordination with national security specialists.

The prosecution was led by attorneys from the National Security and Cybercrime Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s Counterterrorism Section.

The conviction represents a major disruption of a foreign intelligence operation that sought to recruit criminal intermediaries and carry out lethal attacks against U.S. officials within the United States.

Federal authorities emphasized that the case demonstrates the continuing effort by counterterrorism investigators to detect and stop international assassination plots before they can be carried out.

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