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Iranian operative convicted in 2024 plot to kill President Trump

A federal jury has convicted an Iranian operative of taking part in a 2024 terrorism attempt andplot to assassinatePresidentDonald Trump, well before the war in Iran.

Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national also known as Asif Raza Merchant, was found guilty of murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries.

Merchant, 47, was trained by Iran's global terrorist force, theIslamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which he admitted at trial dispatched him to the United States to steal documents and arrange for political assassinations. According to a Justice Department complaintfiled in 2024, Merchant told a source the targets would be people hurting Pakistan and the Muslim world, "not normal people."

However, the plot was foiled by law enforcement before any attack could be carried out.

A satellite image shows black smoke rising and heavy damage at Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's compound, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Tehran, Iran February 28, 2026. Khamenei was killed in the joint strikes with Israel on Iran, an Israeli source confirmed to USA TODAY.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> A satellite image shows heavy traffic, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Tehran, Iran February 28, 2026.

A satellite image shows heavy traffic, following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Tehran, Iran February 28, 2026.

A satellite image shows a frigate on fire at the Konarak naval base in Iran, February 28, 2026.

A satellite image shows drones dispersed at an airbase in Konarak, Iran February 28, 2026.

See inside White House and Mar-a-Lago as US leaders monitor attack on Iran

A satellite image shows black smoke rising and heavy damage at Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's compound,following strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, in Tehran, Iran February 28, 2026. Khameneiwas killed in the joint strikes with Israel on Iran, an Israeli source confirmed to USA TODAY.

"Iran's terrorist regime sent Asif Merchant here to sow mayhem and murder," saidJoseph Nocella Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a U.S. Justice Departmentnews release. "Thanks to the vigilance of our law enforcement partners, his scheme ended in failure. Today, with Merchant's conviction, that failure is complete."

In a statement released at the time, then-FBI Director Christopher Wraycalled the plot"straight out of the Iranian playbook."

Merchant, who faces up to life in prison, came to the U.S. in April 2024 and met two months later in New York with undercover law enforcement officers posing as hitmen. He was arrested before leaving the country in July 2024.

"This man landed on American soil hoping to killPresident Trump," said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "Instead, he was met with the might of American law enforcement."

As set forth in trial exhibits and testimony, including the defendant's own testimony, Merchant began working for the Revolutionary Guard Corp in Pakistan in late 2022 or early 2023, receiving training in tradecraft, including countersurveillance. Later in 2023, he was sent to the U.S. to seek out potential corps recruits.

Asif Merchant, 46, a Pakistani man with ties to Iran who was charged in the U.S. in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. politician or government officials, is shown in this photo released in a criminal complaint by the Department of Justice August 6, 2024. A federal jury found Merchant guilty on March 6, 2026.

Merchant said he knew the corps was a designated terrorist organization and repeatedly traveled to Iran to meet with his corps handler. In 2024, court documents said, he was sent back to the U.S. with a new mission – to recruit people to steal documents and arrange for the murder of one of three specified U.S. government officials and politicians.

Merchant then contacted Nadeem Ali, a New York acquaintance he thought could help with the scheme, according to the documents. Instead, Ali reported Merchant to law enforcement and became a confidential source. Nadeem Ali is a pseudonym and not the man's real name.

Merchant laid out the plot to Ali in person in June 2024, the documents continued, saying he had an opportunity for Ali while making a "finger gun" gesture with his hand, signifying a murder. The victims would be "targeted here" in the U.S., he said while asking Ali to arrange meetings with people he could hire to carry out the plot.

At that meeting, the documents said, Merchant used a napkin and other objects to depict various assassination scenarios, quizzing Ali on how a target might be killed in each. He said the murder would take place after he left the U.S. and that he would communicate with Ali from overseas using code words.

Merchant told Ali his contact back home had ordered him to "finalize" the plan and then leave the U.S., the documents said. He later testified that that contact was his Revolutionary Guard Corps handler.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami was killed in an Israeli airstrike on June 13, 2025, one of several top military and nuclear officials slain in targeted attacks that day.

In June, the documents said, Merchant met with the purported hitmen in New York, saying he sought several services, including document theft, arranging protests at political rallies and assassination of a "political person." He said they would receive instructions as to the target after he had left the country.

Around the same time, according to the documents, Merchant conducted internet searches for political rally locations and reported back to his handler about security protocols at the events.

On June 21, 2024, Merchant met with the undercover officers in New York and paid them $5,000 obtained with help from a person overseas as an advance payment for the assassination.

As detailed in the documents, once Merchant handed over the money, one of the officers said: "Now we're bonded."

When Merchant responded yes, the officer added: "Now we know we're going forward. We're doing this."

"Yes, absolutely," Merchant responded.

Asif Merchant, a Pakistani man with ties to Iran, appeared in a New York City courtroom on charges in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a U.S. politician or government officials, on September 16, 2024 in this courtroom sketch. A federal jury found Merchant guilty on March 6, 2026.

Merchant made flight arrangements and planned to depart the U.S. on July 12, 2024. He was arrested before he could leave the country.

"This was not the first attempt by Iran to harm out citizens on U.S. soil," said FBI DirectorKash Patel. "The other efforts also failed. Let this verdict serve as a reminder that the FBI is committed to detecting such threats and preventing acts of violence."

The verdict comes as federal counterterrorism agencies remainon high alertfor potential retaliatory attacks on American soil following strikes on Iran by U.S. and Israeli forces and the assassination of the nation's supreme leader,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has already launchedretaliatory strikeson U.S. military bases across the Middle East, with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian vowing "bloodshed and revenge."

The regime has a decades-long history of terrorist plots on U.S. soil and against Americans overseas, including schemes targeting Iranian dissidents and former Trump National Security AdviserJohn Bolton.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Iranian operative convicted in 2024 plot to kill President Trump

byAdministrator

in

March 10, 2026

Iranian operative convicted in 2024 plot to kill President Trump

A federal jury has convicted an Iranian operative of taking part in a 2024 terrorism attempt andplot to assassinatePresid...

Hundreds killed in Haiti drone strikes, including 60 civilians, Human Rights Watch says

By Sarah Morland

FILE PHOTO: A member of the police attends the funeral of four Haitian police officers, two of whom were killed when an explosive drone accidentally detonated at a SWAT base in August, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, in Kenscoff, Haiti, September 6, 2025. REUTERS/Egeder Pq Fildor/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Members of the police attend the funeral of four Haitian police officers, two of whom were killed when an explosive drone accidentally detonated at a SWAT base in August, on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, in Kenscoff, Haiti, September 6, 2025. REUTERS/Egeder Pq Fildor/File Photo

FILE PHOTO: Two Haitian police killed when drone accidentally explodes

March 10 (Reuters) - Explosive drone strikes by Haitian security forces targeting gangs have killed over 1,200 people, including 43 adult civilians and 17 children, Human Rights Watch said in a report ‌on Tuesday, adding that operations have ramped up in recent months.

Since last March, Haitian security forces, with ‌support from Vectus Global, have carried out anti-gang operations using quadcopter drones strapped with explosives, often in densely populated parts of the capital Port-au-Prince. Vectus Global is a private U.S.-based military company led by Blackwater founder Erik Prince.

Haiti's prime minister's office, defense minister, national police, Vectus, and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The U.S. charge d'affaires in Haiti told a Senate committee last month that the State Department had licensed Vectus to export its services to Haiti.

A spokesperson ‌for the U.N.-backed Gang Suppression Force in ⁠Haiti declined to comment.

HRW's Americas director, Juanita Goebertus, told Reuters that the rights group had documented unlawful use of lethal force, saying Haiti's partners should stop collaborating with its security ⁠forces until they implement safeguards to protect civilians.

"Haitian authorities should urgently rein in the security forces and private contractors working for them before more children die," she said.

Despite Kenyan, U.S. and U.N. support, armed gangs have expanded well beyond the capital and security forces have yet to capture a major gang leader. The gangs have killed thousands, displaced over a million and ‌crippled the economy.

Drawing from interviews with doctors, victims' relatives, community leaders and videos of the strikes, HRW found drone strikes killed 1,243 people between last March and January 21 of this year.

The strikes also injured 738 people, including 49 alleged civilians, it added, noting that from November to January there were nearly double the number of drone operations compared with the prior three months.

Some local residents told HRW they were afraid to leave their homes due to the ‌drones, which can maneuver between buildings and moving vehicles while their controllers track suspects using live video feeds.

Of the child victims, more than half were 3-to-12-year-olds killed last September in an attack on a sports center where a local gang was distributing gifts, HRW said.

The U.N. ‌office in Haiti (BINUH) has also recorded dozens of civilian deaths and injuries from drones, including a mother of three killed while selling goods on the street, and another case of a woman who was killed in her own home where two gang members took refuge from a drone.

Last month, BINUH said it had no indications ‌the deaths and injuries were being investigated.

HRW said there was no evidence drones were being used widely by gangs.

The U.N.'s human rights chief said last October the drone strikes were disproportionate and likely unlawful.

(Reporting by Sarah Morland in Mexico CityEditing by Matthew Lewis)

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March 10, 2026

Hundreds killed in Haiti drone strikes, including 60 civilians, Human Rights Watch says

By Sarah Morland FILE PHOTO: Two Haitian police killed when drone accidentally explodes March 10 (Reuters) -...

Corey Feldman alleges he was snubbed from Oscars Rob Reiner tribute

Corey Feldmanis responding to fan outrage, alleging he was left out of a tribute toRob Reinerat the upcomingAcademy Awards.

The actor, 54, said in aMarch 6 post on Xthat he was "not invited" to Sunday's Oscars ceremony to honor Reiner, who directed him in the 1986 film "Stand By Me."The Daily Mailpreviously reported that Feldman was not asked to participate in a planned tribute to Reiner at the ceremony scheduled for March 15.

Feldman, though, tried to tamp down fan outrage over his alleged lack of an invitation.

"I understand many believe [it's] due 2 being outspoken about the abuse I suffered as a child & the campaign 2 silence me," Feldman wrote in an all-caps X post. "However, this [isn't] about me! [It's] not my moment @ all! [It's] about the tragic loss of [our] friend Rob Reiner & his memory."

Corey Feldman visits SiriusXM at SiriusXM Studios on Jan. 12, 2023, in New York City.

Feldman also asked his fans to "please take down any petitions" pushing for him to be invited to the Oscars, adding, "They [don't] need me there." He also said that he will "honor Rob my own way."

USA TODAY has reached out to the Academy for comment.

Feldman starred as Teddy in Reiner's classic coming-of-age movie "Stand By Me" oppositeWil Wheaton,Jerry O'ConnellandRiver Phoenix.

Conan O'Brienbreaks silence on Rob Reiner's killing after his holiday party

Rob Reiner speaks onstage at Collider's Directors On Directing Panel during 2025 Comic-Con International: San Diego at San Diego Convention Center on July 24, 2025.