作者：斯蒂芬·索拉奇 | 福克斯新闻
发布时间：2026年3月5日 美国东部时间上午9:20
一名被指控试图雇佣杀手刺杀包括总统唐纳德·特朗普在内的政治目标的巴基斯坦商人周三在纽约向陪审员作证时坚称，是伊朗强迫他采取行动。
47岁的阿西夫·默罕默德（Asif Merchant）表示，特朗普并非2024年刺杀计划中唯一的潜在目标，他告诉陪审员名单上还包括时任总统乔·拜登以及前总统候选人、前联合国大使尼基·黑利（Nikki Haley）。他声称，由于伊朗强大的准军事组织革命卫队威胁到他的家人，他才参与了该阴谋。
“我的家人受到威胁，我不得不这么做，”默罕默德通过乌尔都语翻译作证，“我并不情愿这样做。”
默罕默德称，他原本预计在有人被杀害前就会被捕，打算与美国政府合作，并希望这能帮助他获得绿卡。
（图片由美国司法部提供，包含在支持逮捕令的投诉书中，显示阿西夫·默罕默德。）（美国司法部通过美联社，档案照）
默罕默德于2024年7月被起诉，此前有人拍到他在餐巾纸上勾勒暗杀一名未具名政客的计划，而此人最终被证实是线人。据指控，默罕默德还试图雇佣两名杀手并支付5000美元，但这两人是冒充刺客的联邦调查局特工。
默罕默德在试图离开该国时被捕，当时他尚未采取任何具体步骤实施谋杀计划。当局当时表示，他似乎是在伊朗的授意下行动。
（一名描绘阿西夫·默罕默德的素描，他是一名据称与伊朗有联系的巴基斯坦籍人士，周三（2026年3月4日）在纽约布鲁克林联邦法院出庭。）（克里斯汀·康奈尔）
伊朗政府否认策划刺杀特朗普或其他美国官员。
默罕默德称，他的联络人最初指示他招募愿意为伊朗工作的美国居民——后来又将任务升级为寻找一名罪犯来组织抗议活动、实施盗窃、洗钱和“可能有人被谋杀”。
“他没有确切告诉我具体是谁，但他告诉我——他提到了三个人：唐纳德·特朗普、乔·拜登和尼基·黑利，”他说。
（2024年8月21日，时任共和党总统候选人唐纳德·特朗普在北卡罗来纳州阿什伯勒的竞选集会上透过防弹玻璃发表讲话。）（彼得·扎伊/法新社通过盖蒂图片社）
检察官称，即便2024年4月美国移民局人员在休斯顿机场拦下他，搜查其物品并询问他前往伊朗的行程后，默罕默德仍继续进行所谓的阴谋。他研究了特朗普集会地点，起草了在政治活动中发动枪击的计划，安排了所谓的杀手，并从表亲那里凑齐了5000美元作为“感谢费”。
默罕默德称，他向革命卫队联络人汇报，发送他现在声称是伪造的更新信息，这些信息被藏在一本书中，通过中间人运往伊朗。
他作证说，他觉得自己“别无选择”只能合作，因为联络人暗示他知道默罕默德在伊朗的亲戚住址。
然而，检察官在本周的法庭文件中指出，默罕默德在被捕前从未联系过执法部门，并且在联邦调查局的采访中也没有提及支持其声称受胁迫行动的细节。
如果罪名成立，默罕默德最高可被判处终身监禁。
默罕默德的审判正值特朗普与以色列协调对伊朗发动重大军事行动，在一次打击中杀死伊朗最高领袖阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊。
福克斯新闻数字版的阿什利·奥利弗和美联社对此报道有贡献。
Pakistani businessman claims Iran forced him to plot Trump assassination | Fox News
By Stephen Sorace | Fox News
Published March 5, 2026 9:20am EST
A Pakistani businessman accused of trying to hire hit men to kill political targets, including President Donald Trump, insisted that Iran forced his actions as he testified to jurors in New York on Wednesday.
Asif Merchant, 47, said Trump wasn’t the only potential target of the 2024 assassination scheme, telling jurors the list included then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate and ex-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. He claimed that he only took part in the plot because Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened his family.
“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” Merchant testified through an Urdu interpreter. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly.”
Merchant said he had anticipated getting arrested before anyone was killed, intended to cooperate with the U.S. government and had hoped that would help him get a green card.
This image provided by the Justice Department, contained in the complaint supporting the arrest warrant, shows Asif Merchant.(Justice Department via AP, File)
Merchant was indicted in July 2024 after he was recorded on camera outlining a plot on a napkin to kill an unnamed politician with a person who turned out to be an informant. Merchant allegedly also tried to hire two hit men and pay them $5,000, but the men were FBI agents posing as assassins.
Merchant was arrested as he was attempting to leave the country, before he could take any concrete steps to carry out a murder plan. Authorities, at the time, said he appeared to be acting at the behest of Iran.
A sketch showing Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national with alleged ties to Iran, appearing in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026.(Christine Cornell)
The Iranian government has denied plotting to kill Trump or other U.S. officials.
Merchant said his handler initially directed him to recruit U.S. residents willing to work for Iran — then escalated the assignment to finding a criminal to organize protests, commit theft, launder money and “maybe have somebody murdered.”
“He did not tell me exactly who it is, but he told me — he named three people: Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Nikki Haley,” he said.
Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks behind bulletproof glass during a campaign rally in Asheboro, North Carolina, Aug. 21, 2024.(Peter Zay/AFP via Getty Images)
Prosecutors argued that even after U.S. immigration agents stopped him at Houston’s airport in April 2024, searched his belongings and questioned him about trips to Iran, Merchant continued with the alleged plot. He researched Trump rally locations, drafted plans for a shooting at a political event, lined up supposed hit men and scraped together $5,000 from a cousin as a “token of appreciation.”
Merchant said he reported back to his Revolutionary Guard contact, sending what he now claims were fabricated updates hidden inside a book shipped to Iran through intermediaries.
He testified that he felt he had “no other option” but to cooperate because the handler indicated he knew where Merchant’s relatives in Iran lived.
Prosecutors, however, noted in a court filing this week that Merchant never contacted law enforcement before his arrest and failed during FBI interviews to mention details supporting a claim that he acted under duress.
If convicted, Merchant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Merchant’s trial comes against the backdrop of Trump launching a major combat operation in coordination with Israel against Iran, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a strike.
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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