Two senior Iranian judges killed in Tehran shooting attack

Two senior justices of the Iranian Supreme Court were killed in a shooting attack at the tribunal building in central Tehran, according to the judiciary and state media.

The assailant, who opened fire on Saturday morning, subsequently took his own life.

The judiciary's media center described the attack as an “assassination” and confirmed that the two judges, Hojjat al-Islam Razini and Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Moqisseh, were killed in the assault.

Both were involved in the prosecution of crimes related to national security, espionage, and terrorism.

Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir stated that a person armed with a handgun entered the judges' office and shot them.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the assailant had no prior cases before the Supreme Court and was not one of its regular visitors. The identity and motive of the attacker remain unclear.

The state-owned Tehran Times reported that a bodyguard was also injured in the attack, which occurred on Saturday, the first working day of the Iranian week.

Authorities have launched an investigation to identify any other individuals who may have been involved in the assault.

Razini, 71, had survived an assassination attempt in 1998 when he was head of Tehran’s judiciary. Moqisseh, 68, was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 for overseeing trials where charges were often unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded, according to the US Department of the Treasury.