Assassination of Iranian Judges Raises Alarm in Judiciary

Two senior judges of Iran's supreme court, Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh, were shot dead in an apparent assassination at the court in Tehran on Saturday morning. The attack took place when an armed assailant entered the court premises, resulting in the immediate deaths of both judges. The attacker reportedly took his own life while trying to escape, and a bodyguard was injured during the incident.

The judiciary's news outlet, Mizan, described the killings as a premeditated assassination but did not clarify the motive behind the attack. Initial investigations suggest that the assailant had no prior involvement with any ongoing cases in the supreme court. Authorities are currently probing to determine if anyone else was complicit in the attack.

Both Razini, 71, and Moghiseh, 68, were prominent figures in Iran's judiciary, with extensive histories spanning decades. Razini had survived a previous assassination attempt in 1998 and was regarded as one of Iran's foremost judges, while Moghiseh has faced international sanctions due to allegations of human rights abuses.

The attack raises significant concerns given the judges' roles in enforcing strict policies against dissenters of the Islamic government since the 1980s.