[2][3] The two judges were reportedly adjudicating cases of student protesters, artists, intellectuals and activists[4] in bench trials and had roles in the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners.

[7] According to Article 161 of the 1979 Constitution of Iran, the Supreme Court (Persian: دیوان عالی کشور, romanized: Divan-e 'Ali-ye Keshvar) 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, and fulfilling any other responsibilities assigned to it by law.

[10] 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[1] and stabbed a bodyguard before taking his handgun.

[15] 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".

He was sanctioned in December 2019 by the United States Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) "pursuant to E.O.

[16] The Iranian judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir stated that the judges were working on "national security cases, including espionage and terrorism.

"[19] According to the state-affiliated newspaper Tehran Times, several people working at the court building where the attack took place were detained.