Authorities have arrested a man with Iranian ties over an alleged murder-for-hire assassination plot against U.S. officials.
Court documents show that the person arrested is a Pakistani national named Asif Merchant. Merchant arrived in the U.S. this Spring, and by June he unknowingly contacted undercover law enforcement officers who he believed would help him with his plot.
He planned to return to Pakistan and provide names of the intended targets later in the year – but he was arrested shortly after making contact.
No definitive motive has yet been determined for the murder plot. However, his ties to Iran have authorities speculating that this could be an attempt to enact revenge for the 2020 killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.
Some have said that one of his targets included former President Donald Trump, who ordered the strike on Soleimani. The White House responded to the news, affirming that the government has been tracking such threats.