A newly released undercover video played in a Brooklyn courtroom shows an alleged Iran-linked operative outlining a 2024 plot to assassinate Donald Trump.

According to footage published by the New York Post, the man identified by prosecutors as Asif Merchant is seen attempting to hire two individuals he believed were contract killers, offering $5,000 upfront for the job, The Caspian Post reports, citing Iran International.

During the recorded meeting, Merchant allegedly demonstrated the plan by placing a vape pen on a napkin to represent his intended “target.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Iran International English (@iranintlenglish)

“This is the target. How will it die?” Merchant is heard saying in the video.

Merchant, 47, a Pakistani national who entered the United States in April 2024, is accused of trying to recruit the men to carry out the killing. Prosecutors say he discussed paying cash and proposed staging a protest near a campaign rally to create confusion, which would help the attackers escape.

Although Trump was not explicitly named in the recorded exchanges, court documents show that he - then a leading candidate - was the intended target, the Post reported.

Prosecutors allege Merchant believed Trump’s policies had harmed Muslim-majority countries and acted with backing from individuals allegedly connected to Iran.

The scheme began to unravel when a Pakistani-American acquaintance, a former US Army linguist, alerted authorities after growing suspicious of Merchant’s plans. The FBI then arranged undercover meetings that were secretly recorded.

Merchant was arrested in July 2024 at an airport while attempting to leave the United States, authorities said.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges including murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries. If convicted, he faces a potential life sentence.

In November 2024, the US Department of Justice unsealed criminal charges regarding a thwarted plot by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate Donald Trump prior to the 2024 presidential election.

Trump has been a target for assassination threats since he ordered the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force in Iraq.