Iranian Court Shooting Kills Two Judges in Tehran

# Iranian Court Shooting Kills Two Judges in Tehran

Two judges were killed and a third judge and a bodyguard were wounded when a gunman opened fire outside Iran's Supreme Court in Tehran on January 18, 2025.

Iran's judiciary says an armed assailant entered the room of two Supreme Court judges in Tehran and shot them dead, in an attack that also wounded a third judge and a bodyguard. The account comes from DW's reporting on the incident, which says the shooter then killed himself.

The judges identified by the judiciary were Mohammad Moghiseh and Ali Razini. According to the excerpt, the judiciary's Mizan Online website said three judges were targeted, two were killed and one was injured. Judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir later told state television that a person armed with a handgun entered the room and fired at the two judges. Authorities said an investigation had been launched.

The event is serious both because of the victims' senior judicial roles and because the attack occurred at one of the country's most sensitive legal institutions. The report says the judges had long been involved in national security cases, including espionage and terrorism. That detail suggests the killing may have implications beyond a simple criminal attack, but the source also says the motive remained unclear.

The packet does not establish whether the gunman had any connection to the court, whether he came through a security screening, or what happened in the minutes before the shooting. It also does not say whether the injured judge or bodyguard were treated at the scene or taken to hospital. Those omissions are important because they limit the story to confirmed facts rather than speculation.

Opposition websites had previously said Moghiseh was involved in trials of people they describe as political prisoners, but that claim is not something the packet independently verifies. Because the only reliable evidence provided is the DW report, the article should not go beyond the judiciary's own description of the victims' work and the open question of motive.

The shooting took place outside or within the Supreme Court complex in Iran's capital, which underscores its institutional significance. A gunman entering a room used by top judges would raise immediate concerns about protection protocols and access control, but again, the evidence does not contain enough detail to report on security failures.

The source describes the killings as an assassination attempt. That characterization, however, is attributed to the judiciary and should be treated as the official framing rather than a proven legal conclusion. The investigation is said to be ongoing.

For now, the verified story is stark: two senior judges were killed in Tehran, a third judge and a bodyguard were wounded, and the assailant died at the scene. Everything else, including the motive, remains unresolved.