“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” Merchant told the court through an Urdu interpreter, according to reporting by The Washington Post. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly.”
Merchant told the court he was never specifically ordered to assassinate a particular person, but said his Iranian contact had mentioned three prominent figures in connection with the alleged plan: Trump, former U.S. president Joe Biden, and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
The Revolutionary Guards have previously been accused by U.S. officials of targeting American leaders following the 2020 killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike.
Merchant’s trial is taking place amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran, as the United States and Israel continue military operations against Iran that have reportedly killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
U.S. authorities previously said Merchant had “close ties to Iran” and described the alleged assassination plot as “straight out of the Iranian regime’s playbook.”
According to reports from The New York Times, Merchant told investigators he began working with a member of the Revolutionary Guards around 2022 after being asked if he was interested in “doing some work with the Iranian government.”
He said he was later instructed to organise activities that included arranging protests, stealing documents, laundering money and potentially facilitating an assassination. Merchant also told the court he had been worried about the safety of his wife and adopted daughter in Iran and agreed to participate out of fear for their wellbeing.
Authorities said he was eventually arrested after allegedly attempting to hire individuals he believed were hitmen but who were actually undercover agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
