Two judges of Iran’s Supreme Court were shot dead and a third wounded in Tehran on Saturday, the judiciary’s news website said.
The attacker reportedly killed himself after opening fire at the veteran judges at 10.45am local time on Saturday.
The slain judges were identified as Mohammad Moghiseh and Hojatoleslam Ali Razini who were reportedly dealing with offences related to national security, espionage and terrorism.
“Three judges of the Supreme Court were targeted. Two of them were martyred and one was injured,” Mizan Online reported.
Fars News, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said the attacker was a staff member responsible for providing refreshments at the Iranian judiciary’s headquarters.
He used a handgun to shoot judges and then himself, it said.
The Judiciary Media Centre, however, gave a differing account, referring to the shooter as an “intruder”. “This morning, an armed infiltrator at the Supreme Court carried out a premeditated assassination targeting two brave and experienced judges renowned for their fight against crimes against national security, espionage, and terrorism,” it said, according to Iran International.
The motive for the assassinations was unclear.
In the past, opposition websites said Moghiseh was involved in trials of people they described as political prisoners.
The assassinations came after the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Kurdish woman activist Pakhshan Azizi, inviting condemnation for serious violation of international human rights law.
Ms Azizi was arrested in Tehran on 4 August 2023, allegedly for supporting refugees in Iraq and Syria.
She was subjected to psychological and physical torture during solitary confinement, activists alleged.
