WASHINGTON — A Pakistani man alleged to have ties to Iran has been charged in a plot to carry out political assassinations on U.S. soil, the Justice Department said Tuesday in disclosing what officials say is the latest murder-for-hire plot originating from abroad to target American public figures.

Asif Merchant traveled to New York in June for the purpose of meeting with men he thought he could recruit to carry out the killing, even paying a $5,000 advance to two would-be assassins who were actually undercover law enforcement officers, federal officials said. He was arrested last month as he prepared to leave the U.S. and after having told the men that he would provide further instructions, including the name of the intended targets, in August or September after his return to Pakistan.