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The US State Department on Thursday stated that Washington has not held any discussions with Islamabad regarding the indictment of Pakistani national Asif Merchant over an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials.
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Merchant, 46, is accused of seeking to recruit people in the United States to carry out the plot in retaliation for the US killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ top commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020, according to a criminal complaint.
Prosecutors claim Merchant spent time in Iran before traveling to the US and was charged with murder for hire in federal court in New York’s Brooklyn borough. A federal judge ordered him detained on July 16.
During a weekly press briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US will continue to protect its people, including foreign officials, from threats emanating from Iran, but he deferred further questions to the Department of Justice, which indicted Merchant.
The alleged Iranian plot targeted former President Donald Trump and other current and former US government officials, according to court documents and a report by CNN. A 20-year-old gunman recently opened fire on Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, though the connection to the alleged Iranian plot remains unclear.
Miller reiterated that the matter is an ongoing legal issue and part of a Department of Justice indictment, declining to comment further on the specifics of the case.
The State Department spokesperson emphasized that the United States remains committed to safeguarding its citizens and officials from threats, including those emanating from Iran, but said the details of Merchant’s indictment are best addressed by the Justice Department.
