Two Supreme Court judges shot dead in Tehran, Iranian judiciary says

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(Reuters) -Two senior Iranian Supreme Court judges involved in handling espionage and terrorism cases were shot dead in the capital Tehran on Saturday, Iran’s judiciary said.

It said the attacker killed himself after opening fire at the judges inside the Supreme Court, and that a bodyguard of one of the judges was wounded.

The judiciary identified the judges who were killed as mid-ranking Shi’ite Muslim clerics Mohammad Moghiseh and Ali Razini.

While the motive for the assassination was still unclear, judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir told state television that the two judges had long been involved in “national security cases, including espionage and terrorism”.

“In the past year, the judiciary has undertaken extensive efforts to identify spies and terrorist groups, a move that has sparked anger and resentment among the enemies,” he said.

State TV said these cases were related to individuals linked to Israel and the Iranian opposition supported by the United States. It did not elaborate.

Opposition websites have in the past said Moghiseh was involved in trials of people they described as political prisoners.

Razini was a target of an assassination attempt in 1998.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage and Mark Heinrich)