Iranian official calls judiciary attack a ‘targeted conspiracy’ against national unity

Judges Razini and Moghiseh played direct roles in "crimes against humanity through the massacre of political prisoners in the 1980s, and they continued their crimes until the last days of their lives by upholding the death sentences of political opponents in the Supreme Court," Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Director of the Iran Human Rights group, wrote on X.

"The importance of documenting the crimes of the 1980s by the Islamic Republic becomes clear when we realize that those who were directly involved in the massacre of political prisoners in that decade will no longer be around to be held accountable for their crimes in a fair post-Islamic Republic court," he added.

Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, reacted to the deaths of two judges on Instagram, writing: “Their murder today is the result of the judiciary’s behavior, practices, and repression. Those who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.”

Ebadi said that the deaths of Razini and Moghiseh have eliminated an opportunity to shed light on part of the establishment's crimes. She emphasized that the path taken by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary, amplified or directed by its security apparatus, inevitably leads to such incidents.

The human rights lawyer also noted that the Islamic Republic has already referred to Razini and Moghiseh as “martyrs” and added: “Justice for Moghiseh, Razini, and all those involved in the Islamic Republic’s crimes requires public, transparent, and fair trials — something they have always feared.”

Ebadi concluded by highlighting the judiciary’s history of increasing executions and carrying out mass arrests in response to actions by the United States and Israel. She warned that, in retaliation for the deaths of these two notorious judges, the regime may now intensify its crackdown on prisoners.

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"Some false and fabricated narratives and reports are being circulated, all of which are entirely baseless and lack credibility," the Judiciary's statement, published on Mizan, read.

"Apart from the martyrdom of the two prominent Supreme Court judges, only Martyr Razini’s security guard was injured," it added.

Nearly all local media in Iran initially reported that a third judge had been targeted and hospitalized but did not succumb to injuries.

ISNA News reported that in 1998, Razini was previously targeted in a "terrorist assassination attempt."

An old video has also resurfaced showing Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, visiting Razini after a failed assassination attempt in December 1998, during which Khamenei expressed his "wish for martyrdom" for him.

The Judiciary Media Center issued a statement regarding the incident, referring to an infiltrator:

"This morning, an armed infiltrator at the Supreme Court carried out a premeditated assassination targeting two brave and experienced judges renowned for their fight against crimes against national security, espionage, and terrorism.

Hojatoleslam Ali Razini, head of Branch 39, and Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, head of Branch 53 of the Supreme Court, were among those attacked.

As a result of this terrorist act, two dedicated and revolutionary judges—steadfast in their defense of public security—were killed.

Preliminary investigations reveal that the assailant neither had a case at the Supreme Court nor was a visitor to any of its branches.

Following the attack, authorities moved quickly to apprehend the gunman, but he immediately committed suicide."