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Assailant kills himself after shooting senior justices in the center of the Iranian capital.
Two senior justices in the Iranian Supreme Court have been killed in a shooting attack at the tribunal building in central Tehran, according to the judiciary and state media.
The “assassination” was carried out by an armed person, who killed himself after opening fire early on Saturday, according to a statement by the media center of the judiciary.
The victims were identified as Hojjat al-Islam Razini and Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Moqisseh, each of whom presided over a different branch of the court.
“[They] were actively involved in combating crimes against national security, espionage, and terrorism,” the statement added, describing the slain judges as “courageous and experienced”.
Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told the Iranian state television that “a person armed with a handgun entered the room” of the two judges and shot them.
The identity of the attacker and his motive were not immediately clear.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the perpetrator had no prior cases in the Supreme Court nor was he one of its visitors,” the statement said.
According to the state-owned Tehran Times, a bodyguard was also injured in the attack on Saturday, the first working day of the week in the Iranian calendar.
Iranian media said an investigation was underway to identify and arrest other suspects who may have been involved in the attack.
In 1998, Razini was also the subject of an attempted assassination attack while he was serving as head of Tehran’s judiciary.
