Asif Merchant’s case subject of Department of Justice, US State Dept says no discussions held with Pakistan

The United States has said that the matter of Pakistani national Asif Merchant’s indictment over his alleged involvement in an Iranian plot to assassinate US politicians and government officials was the “subject of Department of Justice (DOJ)” and no discussions in this regard were held with Pakistan.

During a weekly press briefing, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked whether Washington has held any discussions with Pakistani authorities regarding Merchant’s indictment.

“I don’t have any discussions to speak to today, but we have been clear that the United States will continue to do what is necessary to protect its people, including foreign officials, from threats emanating from Iran,” the US official responded.

“That continues to be the case and beyond that, it’s a matter that I should leave to the justice department.”

His statement comes after the Foreign Office (FO) said that it was in touch with the US authorities and awaiting further details.

In a statement on Tuesday, the FO said that Pakistan has noted the statements by US officials that this is an ongoing investigation, adding that before giving Pakistan’s formal reaction “we also need to be sure of the antecedents of the individual in question”.

Meanwhile, Miller further said that the case was “an ongoing legal matter that is the subject of a DOJ indictment”.

“I would defer to the Justice Department to speak to an indictment returned by a grand jury.”

On Tuesday, the US Justice Department said Merchant, 46, was charged with murder for hire in federal court in New York’s Brooklyn borough. A federal judge ordered him detained on July 16, according to court records, as per Reuters.

Merchant sought to recruit people in the United States to carry out the plot in retaliation for the US killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ top commander Qassem Soleiman in 2020, according to a criminal complaint.

“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 Soleimani,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

FBI investigators believe that former President Donald Trump, who approved the drone strike on Soleimani, and other current and former U.S. government officials were the intended targets of the plot, CNN reported, citing a U.S. official.