Shooting near Supreme Court in Tehran kills two

Tehran, IRNA – An assailant has opened fire near the Supreme Court headquarters in the Iranian capital, Tehran, killing at least two judges.

IRNA cited informed sources as saying that the two judges were killed and a third one was wounded in the shooting, which occurred on a busy Tehran square earlier on Saturday.

In a statement, the Judiciary’s media office identified the victims as Hojjatoleslam Ali Razini, head of Branch 39 of the Supreme Court, and Hojjatoleslam Mohammad Moqiseh, head of Branch 53.

“This morning, an armed infiltrator in the Supreme Court acted on a pre-planned assassination [plot] against two brave judges with a long history of fighting crimes against national security, spies, and terrorism,” the statement read.

It said that according to initial findings, the person in question had not been involved in any lawsuit in the Supreme Court, nor was he a client of the court’s branches.

“Right after the terrorist act, an attempt was made to arrest the gunman, who then quickly committed suicide,” it added.

The Judiciary further said an investigation had been launched to identify and arrest those behind the assassination.

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