A Pakistani man accused of a plot to assassinate President Donald Trump is claiming he was forced into the conspiracy by Iran’s ​Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

But U.S. prosecutors say the evidence shows a deliberate attempt to recruit Mafia hitmen on American soil for a foreign regime seeking revenge against the U.S.

The man at the center of the case, Asif Merchant, is on trial this week in federal court in Brooklyn.

According to the criminal complaint, Merchant, 47, traveled to the U.S. to recruit individuals he believed were criminals capable of carrying out the political assassination and other crimes.

One of those individuals notified federal law-enforcement and became a confidential source.

Prosecutors say Merchant’s plans were complex, according to the unsealed affidavit used in the arrest warrant.

He allegedly offered money to further several criminal operations, including theft of documents from a USB drive, the orchestration a domestic protest in the U.S. and ultimately the assassination of “a politician or government official.”

Merchant told the government’s confidential source the “people who will be targeted are the ones who are hurting Pakistan and the world, [the] Muslim world. These are not normal people.”

The attack was to take place after Merchant left the country as he coordinated with the killers from overseas using coded communications.

While the indictment did not initially name a specific target, investigators later determined that former President Donald Trump was among the potential victims discussed during the conspiracy, reported Reuters.

Authorities believe the plot was tied to Iran’s long-running effort to retaliate for the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani, an operation ordered by Trump while he was in office, added the newswire service.

During testimony this week, Merchant told the court other targets included then-President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate, ex-U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, according to the Washington Post.

“My family was under threat, and I had to do this,” the defendant testified through an Urdu interpreter, noted the Post. “I was not wanting to do this so willingly.”

When asked by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nina Gupta if he “traveled to the United States for the purpose of hiring Mafia members to kill a politician, correct?” Merchant replied, “That’s right.”

Federal prosecutors are skeptical of Merchant’s claims of pressure.

The government said Merchant used his family business as a yarn-dyer as cover for the criminal conspiracy, encouraging the government source to help that business.

He noted that he himself expected he could make “up to a million dollars.”

The defendant suggested the government source could make an additional $100,000 in the “yarn-dyed” clothing business.

At that point the source mentioned to the defendant that he hadn’t realized previously the use of the “yarn-dye” business language was Merchant “speaking in code” about the criminal conspiracy.

The plot included more than a half a dozen coded words about the clothing business that Merchant later defined for the government source, said the complaint.

The government points to evidence showing Merchant actively sought out people he believed could commit murder and even paid $5,000 in cash to government agents posing as hitmen.

Photographic evidence of the payment to the agents was supplied in the criminal complaint.

One of the undercover agents noted that with the payment “now we’re bonded.”

“Yes,” agreed the defendant.

“Now we know we’re going forward. We’re doing this,” the agent added.

“Yes, absolutely,” Merchant replied, according to the government.

The government also presented a book which they say was used to transmit information back to the IRGC through a series of intermediaries.

“Fake,” said Merchant of the book, according to the Washington Post.

Iran’s IRGC has been linked to other plots targeting dissidents and public figures abroad, including operations uncovered in the U.S. over the last few years.

The charges include murder-for-hire and terrorism-related offenses.

Merchant has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison.

(Image credit: Screenshot/KHOU)