Before giving a speech at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, Rushdie was stabbed numerous times
An official from the Iranian government stated on Monday that Tehran was not responsible for the recent stabbing of author Salman Rushdie in New York before a speech.
In his first public remarks on the assault, Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, told media that Iran should not be held accountable for any participation.
“We, in the incident of the attack on Salman Rushdie in the U.S., do not consider that anyone deserves blame and accusations except him and his supporters,” Kanaani said. “Nobody has the right to accuse Iran in this regard.”
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Before giving a speech on Friday at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, Rushdie was stabbed numerous times. He was allegedly stabbed by the assailant who stormed the stage. Rushdie had surgery at a nearby medical facility.
He sustained liver damage as well as nerve damage to his arm and eye. His agent stated that the injured eye will probably be lost.
Hadi Matar, 24, the suspected attacker, has entered a not guilty plea to the assault-related charges.
Rushdie has had a fatwa issued against him ever since Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini denounced his book “The Satanic Verses” as blasphemous and demanded the author’s execution in 1989. Iran also outlawed the book. A fatwa is a ruling issued by an Islamic religious authority.
Iran has made a killing bid of more than $3 million for Rushdie.
Although the Iranian government has now distanced itself from Khomeini’s order, Rushdie continued to suffer criticism. In 2012, a semi-official Iranian religious institution increased Rushdie’s reward from $2.8 million to $3.3 million.
Kanaani explained that Iran did not “have any other information more than what the American media has reported.”
The West “condemning the actions of the attacker and in return glorifying the actions of the insulter to Islamic beliefs is a contradictory attitude,” Kanaani said.
