AP – A man fatally shot two prominent judges in Iran’s capital last weekend, officials said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the shootings of the judges, clerics Mohammad Mogheiseh and Ali Razini.
Both clerics served on Iran’s Supreme Court, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
A bodyguard for one of the judges also was wounded in the attack at the Palace of Justice in Tehran, which also serves as the headquarters of the country’s judiciary and typically has tight security.
The attacker, who was armed with a handgun, killed himself, IRNA said.
“According to initial investigations, the person in question did not have a case in the Supreme Court nor was he a client of the branches of the court,” the judiciary’s Mizan news agency said.
“Currently, investigations have been launched to identify and arrest the perpetrators of this terrorist act.”
Spokesman for Iran’s judiciary, Asghar Jahangir, separately told Iranian state television that the shooter had been an “infiltrator”, suggesting he had worked at the courthouse where the killings took place. Later in the day, Jahangir told state TV that others were involved.
“In this regard, some individuals were identified, summoned or arrested and investigations of them have begun.”
The Iranian Supreme Court has many branches spread across the country. It is the highest court in Iran and can hear appeals on decisions made by lower courts.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a message offered his condolences for the “martyrdom” of both judges.
Razini had been targeted previously.
In January 1999, attackers on motorcycles hurled an explosive at his vehicle, wounding him as he left work as the head of the judiciary in Tehran.
