A Pakistani man accused of plotting to assassinate President Donald Trump told jurors on Wednesday that he did not willingly cooperate with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the alleged scheme, according to media reports.
The U.S. Justice Department has accused Asif Merchant of attempting to recruit individuals inside the United States to carry out a plan targeting Trump and other American politicians in retaliation for Washington’s killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani.
The Revolutionary Guard holds a central role in Iran, combining military and economic power with a broad intelligence network.
"I did not want to do this so willingly," the New York Times quoted Merchant as telling the court during his trial on terrorism and murder-for-hire charges. Merchant said he became involved to protect his family in Tehran.
Prosecutors rejected that claim, saying there is a "lack of evidentiary support for a true duress or coercion," according to a letter sent Tuesday to the judge in the case, which dates back to 2024.
According to the newspaper, Merchant testified that he had never been ordered to kill a specific person, but that his Iranian handler mentioned three names during conversations in Tehran.
In addition to Trump, the names included Joe Biden, who was president at the time, and Nikki Haley, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
Lawyers for Merchant did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the White House also declined to comment.
The trial began last week, days before Trump ordered strikes on Iran carried out jointly with Israel that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials.
Trump referenced the alleged Iranian plot during an interview with ABC News on Sunday about the operation that killed Khamenei, saying, "I got him before he got me."
Tehran has denied accusations that it targeted Trump or other U.S. officials.