Two prominent Iranian Supreme Court judges have been killed in an attack at the court's headquarters in Tehran, according to Iran's judiciary.
The victims were identified as Ali Razini and Mohammad Moghiseh. A third judge was also wounded in the attack, which took place at Tehran's Palace of Justice.
The press service of Iran's judiciary reported that an armed individual had "infiltrated the Supreme Court in a planned act to assassinate two judges."
Initial investigations found that the attacker did not have a case before the court, nor any other connections, the judiciary's press service reported.
The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in Iran, with its head appointed by the supreme leader. Headquartered in Tehran, it has branches throughout the country.
Details of the incident or the attacker's motive remain unclear. The judiciary's press service reported that the attacker "quickly committed suicide" after the shooting, although this has not been confirmed.
Other Iranian media reports stated that the perpetrator was an "infiltrator" who first wounded a bodyguard with a knife, seized their weapon, and then carried out the assassinations.
Iran's semiofficial Mehr News Agency, citing an informed source, reported that the judges were shot with live rounds before the attacker committed suicide.
SEE ALSO: Survivors Of Iran’s 1988 Mass Executions Implicate Leaders Of Clerical Regime In Foreign CourtBoth victims held significant positions in Iran's powerful judicial system. Judge Mohammad Moghiseh had presided over numerous political trials, including cases involving supporters of the 2009 opposition Green Movement. He was under sanctions from both the European Union and the United States for human rights violations.
Razini had served in many high-profile positions in the judiciary and had been accused by Iran's opposition of being involved in a series of extrajudicial killings of political prisoners in 1988.
In 1998, when he was serving as chief justice of Tehran, Razini was wounded in a bomb attack while leaving his workplace.
In its statement on the judges' deaths, the judiciary's press service said that in recent years "extensive measures have been taken by the judiciary to identify, prosecute, arrest, and prosecute agents and elements affiliated" with Israel and "American agents, spies, and terrorist groups."
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the identity of the attacker is not known.