Iran's Judiciary Claims Assailant of Mogheiseh and Razini Was 'Not an Ordinary Person'

The official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic issued a new statement regarding the assassination of Mohammad Mogheiseh and Ali Razini, dismissing claims about the assailant's 'difficult living conditions' as 'rumors' and stating that he was 'not an ordinary person.' On Saturday, February 6, Mizan Online denied the assailant's 'livelihood problems,' despite Mohammad Mogheiseh's son, Mohsen Mogheiseh, stating on his personal Instagram page on February 2 that his father had collected money from all judges for the assailant's two surgeries. He also added that his father was always seeking to 'increase the assailant's salary' and was 'trying' to find him 'a better job.' Iranian media have published new details about the assassination of Mogheiseh and Razini, fueling discussions that the assailant had financial issues. However, Mizan News Agency labeled these reports as 'rumors' and attributed their dissemination to Persian-language media outside of Iran. Mizan Online also emphasized that the perpetrator, who was 'single,' had no 'personal motives' for the attack. Mohammad Mogheiseh and Ali Razini were killed on January 29 by an individual identified by Iranian media as a 'service employee' and 'tea boy' with ten years of experience at the courthouse. Meanwhile, many unanswered questions regarding this assassination remain, which the Judiciary and other institutions of the Islamic Republic have not addressed. Notably, the official news agency has not explained how the assailant, if he was 'not an ordinary person,' managed to gain the trust of security institutions within this body. Some official media have claimed that several individuals have been arrested in connection with this assassination and that the assailant managed to purchase the weapon used in the attack illegally. While some media and government-affiliated figures have alleged that the assailant had ties to the People's Mojahedin Organization, the Ensaf News website, close to the government of Masoud Pezeshkian, quoted a former intelligence officer stating, 'Our colleagues have concluded that this incident and its perpetrator have no connection to the Mojahedin Organization.' This former intelligence officer, named Nasser Razavi, was described by IRNA as a security intelligence official in major state institutions (including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Ministry of Intelligence) who has spent over 30 years of his service specifically combating the Mojahedin Organization. In this interview, the former officer claimed about the assailant: 'This individual had depression and had changed his position from administrative to service, resulting in a reduction in his salary. He was agitated due to this and on the day of the incident, after following Mogheiseh and Razini, he approached Mr. Niri but got into a confrontation with the bodyguard and was ultimately killed.' He also added, without providing details, that the assailant 'sought someone to obtain a weapon but this person did not provide him with a weapon, and it is unclear where he acquired the weapon used, but it is incorrect to say that this weapon belonged to the bodyguard.' Razavi claimed that the assailant's act of killing Mogheiseh and Razini was 'not political,' adding that 'when he went to attack Mr. Niri, he got into a confrontation with the bodyguard and killed himself.' This statement comes despite the Judiciary's official announcement that Hossein Ali Niri, the head of the Supreme Court of Judges, 'was not present at the Supreme Court at the time of the incident.' Despite a week passing since the killing of these two judges, no organization or group has claimed responsibility for the attack or mentioned any connection to the assailant. Some media outlets of the Islamic Republic have used the term 'hypocrite' to potentially link the assailant to the Mojahedin Organization, claiming that he had questioned employees about the existence of cases against this opposition organization in the judiciary. Mohammad Mogheiseh and Ali Razini were known as 'notorious' judges due to their endorsement of numerous death sentences and long-term imprisonments. They were also responsible for many cases of detentions during political and social protests in the country.