Trump Assassination Plot: I had no choice, Pakistani Asif Merchant claims in court, Iran had threatened the family

News India Live, Digital Desk: 47-year-old Asif Merchant presented his views before the jury on Wednesday during this high-profile trial going on in Brooklyn, New York. He admitted that he had planned to target American leaders, but the reason behind this was not his will but ‘Iranian pressure’.1. “Conspiracy hatched to save family” (Family Under Threat) Asif Merchant told the court that he had not willingly joined the conspiracy: Pressure from Iranian handler: Merchant claimed that his family (wife and children) living in Tehran were kept in a hostage-like situation by Iranian intelligence agents. Creepy meeting: He told that Mehrdad, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Yusuf (Mehrdad Yousef), had come to his house and threatened him. According to Merchant, Joseph had made it clear to him that if he did not carry out this work in America, the consequences for his family would be bad.2. Three Big Names: Trump, Joe Biden, and Nikki Haley The evidence presented in court and Merchant’s testimony revealed who were the targets of the plot: Merchant testified that his Iranian handler did not give him the name of any one person, but suggested the names of three prominent leaders: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Nikki Haley. Search History: Prosecutors revealed that Merchant’s laptop Search history of information related to location and security arrangements of rallies has been found.3. ‘Makeshift’ hitman and payment of $5,000Merchant admitted that he had made an advance payment of $5,000 (about Rs 4.25 lakh) to hire hitmen. Fake killers: Those whom Merchant was paying as ‘mafia’ were actually undercover agents of the American FBI. Failed conspiracy: Merchant said in the court, “I knew that I I won’t be able to succeed. I was just pretending to save my family and was mentally prepared to get caught.”4. Prosecution’s Argument Government lawyers have rejected Merchant’s ‘coercion’ claim: They argued that Merchant never sought help from US law enforcement agencies before being captured. Prosecutors say Merchant was acting like a trained operative and learned the techniques of ‘counter-surveillance’ himself. Were.5. Iran’s official stance from the beginning has been that Tehran has called these allegations ‘ridiculous’ and ‘propaganda’. Iran says that it is not involved in the conspiracy to assassinate the leaders of any country, although it has always reiterated its desire to avenge the death of General Qasim Suleimani.