Iran mourns judges killed in Tehran attack

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended the funeral of two senior Iranian Supreme Court judges who were shot dead in the capital Tehran.
The judiciary identified the judges who were killed as mid-ranking Shi'ite Muslim clerics Mohammad Moghiseh and Ali Razini.
While the motive for the assassination was unclear, judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir told state television that the two judges had long been involved in "national security cases, including espionage and terrorism".
It said the attacker killed himself after opening fire at the judges inside the Supreme Court, and that a bodyguard of one of the judges was wounded.
Two high-profile Iranian judges have been assassinated in a terrorist attack at the Supreme Court building in downtown Tehran.
A statement issued by the Judiciary identified the judges as Ali Razini, head of Branch 39 of the Supreme Court, and Mohammad Moqiseh, head of Branch 53.
”A person armed with a handgun entered the room of the two veteran judges before noon Saturday and martyred them,” Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said, adding a bodyguard of the judges was injured in the attack.
"The gunman immediately committed suicide while running away and we cannot talk about his motives at the moment," he said.
The judges worked on cases fighting crimes against national security, espionage and terrorism.
According to the preliminary investigation, the attacker was not involved in any cases before the Supreme Court.
Over the past year, the Iranian judiciary has taken a series of measures to identify, persecute, arrest, and prosecute agents and elements affiliated with Israel, the US and terrorist groups.
Razini, 71, held several important positions in Iran’s judiciary and was previously targeted in a 1998 assassination attempt by assailants, who planted a magnetic bomb on his vehicle.