Pak man with Iran ties charged in plot to assassinate gov officials in US

A 46-year-old Pakistani national with close ties to Iran was on Tuesday charged in connection with a foiled plot to assassinate a politician or US government officials on American soil, authorities here said.

Asif Raza Merchant was charged in a complaint unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn with murder-for-hire as part of a scheme to assassinate a politician or US government officials on its soil.

Law enforcement foiled the charged plot before any attack could be carried out.

Merchant, who has stated that he has a wife and children in Iran and a wife and children in Pakistan, is in federal custody in New York.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement that for years, the Justice Department has been working aggressively to counter Iran's brazen and unrelenting efforts to retaliate against American public officials for the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York said that working on behalf of others ...