An attacker shot and killed a senior judge in the center of the Iranian capital before committing suicide.

Two senior judges of Iran’s Supreme Court were killed in a shooting at a court building in central Tehran, the judiciary and state media reported.

According to a statement from the Judicial Media Center, the “assassination” was carried out by an armed man who shot himself in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The victims were identified as Hojjat al-Islam Razini and Hojjat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen Moqisseh, who serve as judges in different parts of the court.

“(They) are actively involved in combating crimes against national security, espionage and terrorism,” the statement added, describing the slain judge as “brave and experienced.”

Judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir told Iranian state television that “a man armed with a pistol entered the chamber of two judges” and shot them.

The attacker’s identity and motive are unclear.

“Preliminary investigations indicate that the perpetrator has not had a case before the Supreme Court before and is not one of the Supreme Court’s visitors,” the statement said.

A bodyguard was also injured in the attack on Saturday, the first working day of the week in Iran, state-run Tehran Times reported.

Iranian media said investigations were ongoing to identify and arrest other suspects who may have been involved in the attack.

In 1998, 71-year-old Razini was also the subject of an assassination attempt while serving as head of Tehran’s judiciary.

Mochise, 68, was sanctioned by the United States in 2019 for “overseeing numerous unfair practices in which allegations were unsubstantiated and evidence was ignored,” according to the Treasury Department.

Although attacks on judges are rare, Iran There have been a number of shootings of high-profile people in the past few years.

In October, a Shia Muslim preacher was shot dead after leading Friday prayers in the southern city of Kazerun.

In April 2023, a powerful cleric named Abbas Ali Soleimani was also shot dead in a bank in the northern province of Mazandaran.

In August 2005, Hassan Moghaddas, a prominent Iranian judge, was killed in the middle of Tehran’s busy business district by two gunmen who climbed into his car.

Two years later, two men convicted of his murder were publicly hanged.