Pakistani Citizen Found Guilty of Planning Assassinations of US Politicians

A federal court in Brooklyn has issued a guilty verdict in a case that has shaken American public opinion. A Pakistani citizen was found guilty of preparing attacks on leading United States politicians. The main target of the conspiracy was Donald Trump, but evidence indicates that the sitting president Joe Biden and other high-ranking state officials were also on the list of potential victims. The prosecution proved that the accused acted in concert with Iranian paramilitary structures, aiming to destabilize the country internally. During the trial, the defendant admitted to attempting to hire hitmen who were to carry out attacks on US soil. The defense line was based on the claim that the man acted under duress. He maintained that he was recruited by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, which allegedly threatened him with death or persecution of his family if he refused to cooperate. However, the jurors did not believe these explanations, finding that his actions were voluntary and meticulously planned. Relations between Washington and Tehran remain extremely tense since the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018 and the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani in 2020, which triggered a wave of Iranian retaliatory threats against American leaders. The investigation revealed that the Pakistani traveled to New York to personally oversee the logistics of the planned assassinations. He contacted individuals he believed to be hitmen, who were in fact FBI undercover agents. The evidence included recorded conversations, financial documentation, and escape plans from the country after committing the crimes. This verdict is seen as a clear signal to foreign intelligence agencies that the American justice system will relentlessly pursue any attempts to interfere with the security of the highest state organs. „I was forced into this by Iran, I had no choice but to follow their orders.” — The accused Pakistani The Iranian angle in this case is particularly significant in the context of global geopolitics. American intelligence services have long warned of Tehran's attempts to retaliate for the deaths of key military commanders. While the defense tried to portray the accused as a victim of blackmail, prosecutors emphasized his determination in pursuing the goal. Conviction for terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder carries a lengthy prison sentence, intended to serve as a warning to other potential executors of orders from foreign powers.