US charges Iran-linked Pakistani over political assassination plot

Asif Merchant is accused of seeking a hitman to kill unnamed officials as revenge for US assassination of Iranian military chief.

The United States has charged a Pakistani man, who it alleges has ties to Iran, with plotting to carry out political assassinations.

Asif Merchant travelled to New York in June seeking to hire a hitman to kill a politician or a US government official in revenge for the 2020 assassination of a senior Iranian military commander, according to a statement issued by the…