The 83-year-old and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar were found with stab injuries in their home near the capital, Tehran, on Saturday evening, Iranian authorities say, reports bbc.com.
Mehrjui was considered as one of the founders of Iranian new wave cinema. Four people have been identified in connection to the deaths, according to local media reports.
According to chief justice Hossein Fazeli, Mehrjui had invited his daughter to come over to his home in the city of Karaj for dinner on Saturday night.
As she arrived, she is said to have found the bodies of her parents. Mohammadifar, a screenwriter and costume designer, had reportedly complained recently that she had been threatened and that the house had been burgled.
Iranian actor and director Houman Seyedi was among those who took to social media to react to the killings - describing them as "terrible and brutal".
Mehrjui, who studied in the US as a young man and later lived in France for five years, first rose to national and international prominence with his 1969 film ‘The Cow' which tells the story about a villager's obsession with the titular animal.
His other most notable films include ‘Hamoun', ‘The Pear Tree' and ‘Leila' -- the latter about an infertile woman who encourages her husband to marry for a second time.
The new wave movement focused mainly on realism but Mehrjui was known to draw inspiration from literature.
He received many awards over the years but while his films were celebrated at international film festivals, some barely saw the light of day in Iran due to censorship.
Lieutenant Or Moses, 22, a commander in the Home Front Command, from Ashdod and Inspector Kim Dokraker, a Border Police officer in the police's central district, were killed in the attack on October 7, official sources confirmed. Both of them are said to have died on duty in combat.
Meanwhile, British PM Rishi Sunak condemned the “horror and barbarism” unleashed by the Palestinian militant group Hamas. He pledged continued support to Israel in restoring security as he marked one week of the conflict in West Asia. In a statement issued by 10 Downing Street and also on social media on Saturday evening, the British Indian leader also reiterated his commitment to the Jewish community in the country that all protective measures would be deployed.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Iran's foreign minister in Qatar where they agreed to continue cooperation to achieve the group's goals, Hamas said.
Nepal said one of its students, who went missing after a farm in Israel was attacked by Hamas, had been taken hostage by the Palestine militant group and efforts were on to find him with the help of international organisations.
In Gaza, UN shelters ran out of water as thousands packed into the courtyard of the besieged territory's largest hospital as a refuge of last resort from a looming Israeli ground offensive. Medics warned that thousands could die as hospitals packed with wounded people ran desperately low on fuel and basic supplies. Israel has cut off the flow of food, medicine, water and electricity to Gaza, pounded neighbourhoods with airstrikes and told the estimated 1 million residents of the north to flee south ahead of Israel's planned attack.
Fighting along Israel's border with Lebanon, which flared since the start of the latest Gaza war, intensified with Hezbollah militants firing rockets and an anti-tank missile, and Israel responding with airstrikes and shelling.
The boy was stabbed 26 times with a military-style knife with a 7-inch (18-cm) serrated blade, the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
The 32-year-old woman had multiple stab wounds and is expected to survive the attack that occurred on Saturday in Plainfield Township, about 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Chicago.
US President Joe Biden said the boy's family were Palestinian Muslims who "came to America seeking what we all seek - a refuge to live, learn, and pray in peace".
"This horrific act of hate has no place in America," Biden said in a statement.
Joseph Czuba, 71, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, two counts of hate crime and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, the sheriff's office said.
"Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis," the Will County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
Reuters could not identify an attorney for Czuba. He was in jail awaiting his initial court appearance, the office said.
Although Czuba did not make any statements to detectives, as is his constitutional right, police said they determined the charges hrough interviews and evidence.
When police arrived at the scene, they said they found Czuba sitting on the ground outside the home with a cut to his forehead. The victims were in a bedroom.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) identified the boy as Wadea Al-Fayoume and said the woman, Hanaan Shahin, was his mother.
"The Islamophobic rhetoric and anti-Palestinian racism being spread by politicians, media outlets, and social media platforms must stop," CAIR said on the social media platform X.
FBI Director Christopher Wray warned the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference to stay vigilant "in this heightened environment".
"There's no question we're seeing an increase in reported threats, and we've got to be on the lookout, especially for lone actors who may take inspiration from recent events to commit violence of their own," Wray told the conference in San Diego on Saturday, according to the FBI website.
Nepalese student held hostage in Gaza
- Nepal said its student who went missing after Hamas attacks in Israel had been taken hostage and rescue efforts were on.
- In Gaza, UN shelters ran out of water as thousands packed into the courtyard of the besieged territory’s largest hospital.
