Asif Merchant “Murder-for-Hire” Case Heads to Trial, Prosecutors Allege Iran-Linked Plotting and Coded Tradecraft

A Pakistani national is on trial in Brooklyn on murder-for-hire allegations stemming from a 2024 sting in which he allegedly used a business cover, coded language, and a $5,000 cash advance to recruit supposed hitmen for an overseas-directed plot to kill U.S. officials, with prosecutors and filings situating the case within broader Iran-linked targeting concerns.