In Iran, two judges were killed in a shooting attack Saturday at the Supreme Court building in Tehran. State media reported that three Supreme Court judges were targeted.
Two were killed on the spot, and one other judge was injured. According to media reports, the attacker killed himself immediately after carrying out the shooting. The motive for the attack remains unclear. A preliminary police investigation revealed that the assailant had no pending case in the Supreme Court and was not a client of the branches headed by the two judges.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has directed security and law enforcement agencies to immediately launch an investigation into a shooting attack that claimed the lives of two Supreme Court justices in Tehran.
In a statement on Saturday, Pezeshkian, who is chairman of the Supreme National Security Council, extended his condolences over the deaths of Hojjatoleslam Ali Razini and Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Moqiseh, who were assassinated earlier in the day when a gunman infiltrated the tribunal building in central Tehran and opened fire.
The president hailed the slain judges, each of whom presided over different branches of the Supreme Court, for their lifelong dedication to combating crimes against national security and defending the rights of Iranian citizens. He promised that their sacrifices would not be in vain and that there would be no disruption in the pursuit of justice in the country.
Pezeshkian ordered security and law enforcement agencies to look into various dimensions of this “reprehensible act” and bring those responsible to justice.
The identity of the assailant, who killed himself after opening fire, and his motive were not immediately clear. An investigation is underway to identify and arrest other suspects who may have been involved in the attack.