Two Iran Supreme Court judges killed in Tehran shooting attack

According to reports from Iran's judiciary and state media, two senior Iranian judges were shot and killed at the Supreme Court in the capital, Tehran. The judiciary's media center released a statement saying the "assassination" was carried out by a gunman who committed suicide after opening fire earlier on Saturday.

The victims were identified as Muslim scholars Ali Razeini and Mohammad Mojiseh, both holding the title of Islamic jurist and each presiding over different branches of the court. "They were actively involved in combating crimes against national security, espionage, and terrorism," the statement added, describing the two slain judges as "brave and experienced."

Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir stated on Iranian state television that "a person with a handgun entered" the judges' room and opened fire on them. He also said the attacker then committed suicide. The identity and motive of the attacker are currently unclear. The judiciary's media center stated, "Initial investigations show that the perpetrator had no prior cases at the Supreme Court and was not a visitor to the court."

According to Iran's official Tehran Times, one of the judges' bodyguards was also injured in the Saturday attack, which occurred on the first working day of the week in the Iranian calendar. President Masoud Pezeshkian said that security forces and law enforcement must quickly follow up on this "horrific and cowardly" act. According to state media, some personnel working in the court building where the attack occurred have been detained. The judiciary's media center warned against speculation. The judiciary has not confirmed any arrests.

Razeini, 71, also survived an assassination attempt in 1998 while serving as the head of the Tehran judiciary. The then-president, now Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, visited him in the hospital. Mojiseh, 68, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2019 for "presiding over numerous unjust trials during which accusations were unsubstantiated and evidence was ignored." Iranian judiciary chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei said in a statement that the judges were killed because they had imposed "decisive" punishments on "terrorists whose hands were stained with the blood of the Iranian people." "They have always been the target of the enemy's hatred and malicious attacks," he said. Although attacks on judges are rare, Iran has witnessed several shootings targeting high-profile figures in recent years.