Assailant kills himself after shooting senior justices in the centre of the Iranian capital
Tehran
Two senior justices in the Iranian Supreme Court have been killed in a shooting attack at the tribunal building in central Tehran, according to the judiciary and state media.
The “assassination” was carried out by an armed person, who killed himself after opening fire early on Saturday, according to a statement by the media centre of the judiciary.
The victims were identified as clerics Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh, both holding the rank of hujjat al-Islam and each of whom presiding over a different branch of the court.
“[They] were actively involved in combating crimes against national security, espionage, and terrorism,” the statement added, describing the slain judges as “courageous and experienced”.
Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told the Iranian state television that “a person armed with a handgun entered the room” of the two judges and shot them. He said the assailant committed suicide.
The identity of the attacker and his motive were not immediately clear.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the perpetrator had no prior cases in the Supreme Court nor was he one of its visitors,” the statement by the media centre of the judiciary said.
According to the state-owned Tehran Times, a bodyguard of one of the judges was also injured in the attack on Saturday, the first working day of the week in the Iranian calendar.
Iranian media said an investigation was under way to identify and arrest other suspects who may have been involved in the attack. The judiciary media centre rejected any other news and speculation, as state-affiliated media reported that a number of the personnel of the place the attack took place were detained.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said the “terrorist and cowardly” act must be followed up quickly by security forces and law enforcement.
In 1998, Razini, 71, was also the subject of an attempted assassination attack while he was serving as head of Tehran’s judiciary. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was president at the time, visited him at the hospital.
Moghiseh, 68, was sanctioned in 2019 by the United States for having “overseen countless unfair trails, during which charges went unsubstantiated and evidence was disregarded”, according to the US Department of the Treasury.
Iranian judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei said in a statement that the judges were killed due to their “decisive” sentences against “terrorists whose hands were soaked with the pure blood of the Iranian people”.
“They were always the subject of hatred and malice from the enemies,” he said.
Though attacks targeting judges are rare, Iran has seen a number of shootings targeting high-profile figures over the past years.
