Two Iranian Supreme Court Judges Shot Dead in Planned Assassination

Two prominent Iranian Supreme Court judges were killed in a targeted shooting in Tehran, which authorities are calling a “planned assassination.” The incident occurred inside a court building, where the assailant, identified as having no pending legal cases, killed the two judges before taking his own life.

According to Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir, a guard was also injured during the attack, though the extent of their injuries remains unclear. The assailant reportedly attempted to flee after carrying out the shooting but ultimately took his own life, leaving law enforcement to investigate the motives behind the violence.

The slain judges, Mohammad Moghiseh and Ali Razini, were veteran figures within Iran’s judicial system, known for presiding over high-profile and politically sensitive cases. Both judges had longstanding careers handling trials of activists, protesters, and artists, earning reputations for harsh sentences against individuals critical of the regime.

Moghiseh, who had been a fixture in Iran’s judiciary for decades, was sanctioned by both the United States and the European Union for his role in presiding over controversial trials. In 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department accused him of overseeing unfair trials where charges were unsubstantiated, and evidence was ignored. Moghiseh’s judicial decisions included sentencing eight Iranian Facebook users to a combined 127 years in prison for anti-regime propaganda, as well as prosecuting filmmakers and poets for “propaganda against the state.”

In one of the most notable cases of his career, Moghiseh sentenced prominent human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes in 2019. Sotoudeh, a vocal advocate for women’s rights, was widely condemned for the severity of her punishment, drawing international criticism.

Razini, like Moghiseh, had a contentious history within Iran’s legal system. He survived an assassination attempt in 1999 when a bomb was planted on his vehicle. Razini has also faced accusations, along with former president Ebrahim Raisi, of being involved in the “Death Commission”—a controversial group accused of overseeing the execution of thousands of political prisoners during the 1988 Iranian purges.

The judiciary has not disclosed further details regarding the attack, and the motive behind the killings remains under investigation. However, the incident marks a significant moment in Iran’s ongoing political climate, given the high-profile nature of the victims. The country’s authorities have pledged to uncover the full circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two senior judges.