The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has uncovered a second plot to assassinate former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as reported by the BBC. The scheme involves a Pakistani national with links to Iran, who has been charged with conspiring to assassinate several prominent American figures, including Trump.

FBI Director Christopher Wray described the plot as "a dangerous assassination plot... straight out of the Iranian playbook." Asif Merchant, 46, is alleged to have attempted to recruit a hitman in New York to carry out the killings. In response to an Iranian plot discovered in June, security measures for Trump were significantly increased.

Merchant was apprehended in July in New York. According to the indictment, he entered the US from Pakistan in April after spending time in Iran. Shortly after his arrival, Merchant reportedly contacted an individual he believed could help execute the plot, but this person instead informed the authorities.

During discussions about his plans, Merchant allegedly made a "gun finger" gesture and indicated his intention to leave the US before any killings took place. He also mentioned using code words to stay in touch.

Merchant requested his contact to arrange a meeting with potential assassins. In June, this contact introduced him to undercover FBI agents posing as hitmen. Merchant detailed his plans, which included stealing documents from the target's home, organizing political rallies, and assassinating a "politician," with the final list of targets set for late August or early September.

While Trump is not directly named in the indictment, sources cited by CBS confirm that he was one of the intended targets. This plot is separate from the assassination attempt on Trump on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was shot by a Secret Service sniper. This incident was part of a broader pattern of threats from Tehran, which had previously targeted Trump and others following the 2020 drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, in Iraq.