Photo of Iranian smiling just before execution resurfaces

A photo of a beaming Iranian who has executed in 2007 has resurfaced after two Iranian Supreme Court justices responsible for mass executions in 1998 were shot by a lone assailant, who then killed himself.

Majid Kavousifar was captured by a photographer smiling broadly just moments before his execution for killing a judge who had jailed dissidents.

Kavousifar's nephew Hossein was also executed for his role in the murder.

The two were hanged from ropes; Majid seemed to die instantly, and Hossein, within minutes after, the stools on which they were standing, were knocked away.

Majid's last words to police officers nearby were, "I reached the point at which I decided to eradicate any injustice."

The assailant who killed two justices at the Supreme Court building in Tehran on Saturday morning will not face similar justice, since he is already dead by his own hand.