 | This article contains several duplicated citations. The reason given is: DuplicateReferences detected:
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| Supreme Court of Iran shooting | |
|---|---|
 The inside of the Supreme Court of Iran | |
| Location | Supreme Court of Iran, Tehran, Iran |
| Coordinates | 35°40′54″N 51°25′08″E / 35.6816°N 51.4189°E / 35.6816; 51.4189 |
| Date | 18 January 2025 |
| Target | Judges |
| Attack type | Mass shooting, assassination, murder–suicide, stabbing |
| Weapons | Handgun, knife |
| Deaths | 3 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured | 2 |
| Victims | Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghisseh |
| Motive | Under investigation |
On 18 January 2025, Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh, two senior Sharia judges, were shot to death at the Courthouse of Tehran, which houses the Supreme Court of Iran. In addition, the attack injured another judge and a bodyguard. The perpetrator committed suicide after the shooting.
Background
The Supreme Court of Iran (Persian: دیوان عالی کشور, romanized: Divan Ali Keshor) is the highest juridical authority in Iran, established to supervise the correct implementation of laws by courts of justice and consisting of the most prominent judges of the country.
The country's legal code is based on Sharia, the Islamic law, although many aspects of civil law have been retained, and it is integrated into a civil law legal system.
In 2005, judge Hassan Moghaddas was also assassinated.
Attack
Initial reports stated that the shooting occurred when an unnamed gunman entered the offices of the Supreme Court, located inside the Palace of Justice in Tehran and killed two senior judges. According to the Iranian judiciary spokesman, three judges of the court were targeted; two of them were "martyred" and one was injured. Furthermore, a bodyguard was wounded. The assailant, who used a handgun, shot himself and died while fleeing the scene. The Islamic law judges were involved in adjudicating the cases of protesters, artists and activists in bench trials and reportedly had roles in the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners.
In a media statement, the judiciary said that "preliminary investigations indicate that the perpetrator had no prior cases in the Supreme Court nor was he one of its visitors" and described the attack as a premeditated assassination.
Fatalities
Ali Razini
| Ali Razini | |
|---|---|
| علی رازینی | |
.jpg) Razini in 2017 | |
| Member of the Assembly of Experts for Hamadan province | |
| In office 20 February 2007 – 24 May 2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1953-05-23)23 May 1953 Razan, Iran |
| Died | 18 January 2025(2025-01-18) (aged 71) Tehran, Iran |
| Occupation | Judge |
Ali Razini (Persian: علی رازینی; 23 May 1953 – 18 January 2025) was an Iranian judge and politician. He served in the Assembly of Experts from 2007 to 2016. Razini had been a target of an assassination attempt in 1998. At the time of his assassination, he was aged 71.
Mohammad Moghiseh
| Mohammad Moghiseh | |
|---|---|
| محمد مقیسه | |
 Moghiseh in 2017 | |
| Justice of the Supreme Court of Iran | |
| In office 11 November 2020 – 18 January 2025 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1956 Sabzevar, Iran |
| Died | 18 January 2025 (aged 68) Tehran, Iran |
| Occupation | Judge |
Mohammad Moghiseh (Persian: محمد مقیسه; 1956 – 18 January 2025) was an Iranian judge. He served on the Supreme Court of Iran from 2020 until his death. Moqiseh (Moghiseh) has been the sentencing judge of Nasrin Sotoudeh and adjudicated the case of Hossein Rajabian. Moghiseh had been sanctioned by the United States in 2019. At the time of his assassination, he was aged 68.
Mohammad Moghisseh was sanctioned in December 2019 by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) "pursuant to E.O. 13846 for engaging in censorship and other activities with respect to Iran on or after July 12, 2009 that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly by citizens of Iran."
Aftermath
In a message, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei offered his condolences for the “martyrdom” of both judges. Khamenei also lauded them as Mujahid brothers.
President Masoud Pezeshkian said the "terrorist and cowardly" act must be followed up quickly by security forces and law enforcement.
The Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir stated that the judges were working on "national security cases, including espionage and terrorism."
According to state-affiliated media Tehran Times, a number of people working at the court building, where the attack took place, were detained.
See also
- 2017 Tehran attacks
- 2023 attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran
- Assassination and terrorism in Iran
- List of terrorist incidents in 2025
References
- "Two Iranian Supreme Court judges shot dead in rare Tehran attack".
- ^ "Iran: Two supreme court judges shot dead in Tehran". BBC. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- ^ "Two Supreme Court judges killed in Tehran shooting attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- "2 judges shot dead at Iran's supreme court: media". Voice of America. 2025-01-18. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- ^ Gambrell, Jon (2025-01-19). "Gunman shoots dead 2 judges in Iran's capital tied to 1988 mass executions". AP News. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- "Iran: Two judges shot dead outside Supreme Court in Tehran". dw.com. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- Mion, Landon (2025-01-18). "Gunman shoots dead 2 Supreme Court judges in Iran's capital before turning gun on himself, state media says". Fox News. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- "Judges shot dead in Iran's supreme court building". The Guardian. AFP. 2025-01-18. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- ^ Salem, Mostafa (2025-01-18). "Two high-profile Iranian judges killed in Tehran in a 'planned assassination'". CNN. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- ^ "Judges shot dead in Iran's supreme court building". The Indian Express. 2025-01-19. Retrieved 2025-01-18.
- "بیوگرافی آیت الله علی رازینی ! / از سمت ها تا 3 بار ترور ! + عکس". رکنا. January 19, 2025.
- "روحانیون جامانده از خبرگان پنجم". Iranian Students' News Agency (in Persian). 1 March 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
- ^ "Two Supreme Court judges shot dead in Tehran, Iranian judiciary says". Reuters. January 18, 2025.
- ^ "2 Iranian Supreme Court Judges Killed In Tehran". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
- "Mohammad Moghiseh: The Iranian Supreme Court's Hanging Judge" (PDF). United Against Nuclear Iran. June 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
- "Iran: Two supreme court judges shot dead in Tehran". BBC News. 18 January 2025. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
- "Treasury Sanctions Two Judges Who Penalize Iranians for Exercising Freedoms of Expression and Assembly".
- "Sanctions List Search". sanctionssearch.ofac.treas.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- Khamenei, Sayyid Ali (January 18, 2025). "Leader's message of condolence following martyrdom of two eminent judges". Khamenei.ir.