Ali Razini
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On 18 January 2025, an attack took place at the
Supreme Court of Iran The Supreme Court of Iran () is the highest juridical authority in Iran, established to supervise the correct implementation of laws by courts of justice and consisting of the most prominent judges of the country. The head of the judiciary assig ...
, located inside the Palace of Justice in
Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Initial reports stated that the shooting occurred when a man armed with a knife entered, attacking a bodyguard before taking control of the bodyguard's handgun and opening fire. Two senior
Qadi A qadi (; ) is the magistrate or judge of a Sharia court, who also exercises extrajudicial functions such as mediation, guardianship over orphans and minors, and supervision and auditing of public works. History The term '' was in use from ...
(
Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
judges), and , died after being shot in their offices. A third judge survived his injuries. The judges were reportedly adjudicating cases of student protesters, artists, intellectuals and activists in
bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems ( Roman, Islamic) use bench trials ...
s and had roles in the
1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners In mid-1988, the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini, ordered the execution of thousands of political prisoners. These executions happened throughout Iran and lasted about five months, beginning in July. They took place in at least 32 ci ...
. The perpetrator killed himself soon after the shooting, before he could be apprehended. No potential motive has been released.


Background

According to Article 161 of the 1979
Constitution of Iran The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran (, ''Qanun-e Asasi-ye Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Iran'') is the supreme law of Iran. It was adopted by referendum on 2 and 3 December 1979, and went into force replacing the Constitution of 1906. It ...
, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
() is the highest judicial authority in the country, established for "the purpose of supervising the correct implementation of the laws by the courts, ensuring uniformity of
judicial procedure Due process of law is application by the state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to a case so all legal rights that are owed to a person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
, and fulfilling any other responsibilities assigned to it by law." Iran's legal system is based on
Islamic law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...
. According to
Preamble A preamble () is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the su ...
10, titled ''The Judiciary in the Constitution'',
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
s must operate "with meticulous knowledge of the Islamic laws." In 2005, judge
Hassan Moghaddas Masoud Ahmadi Moghaddasi (‎; 1963 – 2 August 2005) was an Iranian judge and deputy to Saeed Mortazavi. He was assassinated on Tehran's Ahmad Ghasir Avenue while commuting home from work. The shooter was Majid Kavousifar, who was hanged ...
was assassinated.


Attack

The attack began when a man, armed with a knife, entered Branch 39 of the Supreme Court, located inside the Palace of Justice in Tehran and stabbed a bodyguard before taking his
handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...
. He then fired six shots, killing two senior judges. Early reports that three judges of the court had been targeted were denied by the Iranian government. The assailant shot himself on the third floor of the building while apparently fleeing the scene. The perpetrator was identified as 39-year-old Iranian citizen Farshad Asadi, who was born in 1986. Asadi worked at the Supreme Court for seven to eight years as a service worker and drink carrier. His motives are currently unknown, but it is known that the attack was premeditated and that Asadi did not get the salary increase he wanted. He is being investigated by authorities. In a media statement, the judiciary said that "preliminary investigations indicate that the perpetrator had no prior cases in the Supreme Court nor was he one of its visitors" and described the attack as a "premeditated assassination".


Fatalities


Ali Razini

Ali Razini (; 23 May 1953 – 18 January 2025) was an Iranian judge and politician. He served in the
Assembly of Experts The Assembly of Experts (), also translated as the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership or as the Council of Experts, is the deliberative body empowered to appoint the Supreme Leader of Iran. All directly elected members must first be vetted ...
from 2007 to 2016. Razini had been a target of an assassination attempt in 1998. At the time of his assassination, he was aged 71.


Mohammad Moghiseh

Mohammad Moghiseh (; 1956 – 18 January 2025) was an Iranian judge. He served on the Supreme Court of Iran from 2020 until his death. Moghiseh was the sentencing judge of
Nasrin Sotoudeh Nasrin Sotoudeh (Persian: نسرین ستوده) is an Iranian human rights lawyer known for her defense of activists, opposition politicians, and individuals facing human rights violations. She has represented Iranian opposition activists and ...
and adjudicated the case of
Hossein Rajabian Hossein Rajabian (; born 5 July 1984) is an Iranian filmmaker, writer and photographer who was imprisoned as a political prisoner in 2015 on charges related to his filmmaking. He is an anti-censorship filmmaker and defender of freedom of speech ...
. He was sanctioned in December 2019 by the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...
's
Office of Foreign Assets Control The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Treasury, United States Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade economic sanctions, ...
(OFAC) "pursuant to E.O. 13846 for engaging in censorship and other activities with respect to Iran on or after 12 July 2009 that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly by citizens of Iran". He was also sanctioned by the European Union and Canada over alleged human rights abuses. At the time of his assassination, he was aged 68.


Aftermath

In a message, Supreme Leader
Ali Khamenei Ali Hosseini Khamenei (; born 19 April 1939) is an Iranian cleric and politician who has served as the second supreme leader of Iran since 1989. He previously served as the third President of Iran, president from 1981 to 1989. Khamenei's tenure ...
offered his condolences for the "
martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...
" of both judges. Khamenei also lauded them as
Mujahid ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...
brothers. President
Masoud Pezeshkian Masoud Pezeshkian (, ; born 29 September 1954) is an Iranian politician and physician who has been serving as the ninth president of Iran since 28 July 2024. Pezeshkian served as governor of Piranshahr and Naghadeh counties and was elected to ...
said the "terrorist and cowardly" act must be followed up quickly by security forces and law enforcement. The Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir stated that the judges were working on "national security cases, including espionage and terrorism." According to the state-affiliated newspaper ''
Tehran Times The ''Tehran Times'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Iran, founded in 1979 as the self-styled "voice of the Islamic Revolution". While not state-owned, it is considered state-controlled and closely tied to the hardline factio ...
'', several people working at the court building where the attack took place were detained. Prosecutor-General
Mohammad Jafar Montazeri Mohammad Jafar Montazeri (; born 1949 in Qom) is an Iranian cleric and jurist, who is the current Head of the Supreme Court of Iran since August 6, 2023. He was the prosecutor-general of Iran from April 1, 2016 to August 6, 2023. He was previou ...
described the killings as the "price" the Islamic Republic paid for its "survival". He stated that "capable young judges" would soon replace them.


See also

*
2017 Tehran attacks The 2017 Tehran attacks were a series of two simultaneous terrorist attacks that occurred on 7 June 2017 that were carried out by five terrorists belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against the Iranian Parliament buildi ...
*
2023 attack on the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran The embassy of Azerbaijan in Tehran was attacked on 27 January 2023, at around 08:00 a.m. local time. The perpetrator passed by the guard post with a Kalashnikov rifle and opened fire inside the embassy, while its staff tried to neutralize him. ...
*
Assassination and terrorism in Iran Numerous civilians, including men, women, children, government officials, activists, secular intellectuals and clerics have been victims of assassination, terrorism, or violence against non-combatants, over the course of modern Iranian history. ...
* List of terrorist incidents in 2025


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Razini, Ali 2020s in Tehran 2025 in Iran 2025 mass shootings in Asia 2025 murders in Asia Assassinated judges Assassinated Shiite clerics Attacks on buildings and structures in 2025 Crime in Tehran January 2025 crimes in Asia Mass shootings in Iran Members of the Assembly of Experts Murder–suicides in Asia Qadis Sharia in Iran Terrorist incidents in Iran in 2025 Attacks on government buildings and structures in Iran January 2025 in Iran Terrorist incidents in Asia in 2025 Attacks on courthouses