A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry denied on Monday that the rustic had any involvement within the assault on Salman Rushdie, in what used to be the primary reliable remark by means of Tehran for the reason that violent attack, and faulted the creator himself.
Mr. Rushdie used to be stabbed more or less 10 occasions on Friday whilst talking on the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. He suffered a couple of accidents, together with a broken liver, and is anticipated to lose a watch.
The Iranian spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, put the blame on Mr. Rushdie for the assault.
According to the Iranian Students’ News Agency, Mr. Kanaani mentioned that Mr. Rushdie had crossed “red lines” and “exposed himself to the anger and ire of the people.” He mentioned that Tehran had no data at the attacker past what used to be being reported in U.S. information media.
“In this case, we don’t blame or condemn anyone except Salman Rushdie and his supporters,” Mr. Kanaani mentioned.
The police arrested Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old New Jersey guy, within the assault.
Mr. Rushdie, a prizewinning author, were the topic of a fatwa issued in 1989 by means of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then the best chief of Iran, that ordered Muslims to kill him and put a value on his head of a number of million bucks. He used to be centered for his novel “The Satanic Verses,” which drew ire in lots of portions of the Islamic global as a result of its portrayal of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
In 1998, President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, who used to be thought to be moderately liberal, mentioned that the rustic now not supported the killing. But the fatwa stays in position.
Mr. Rushdie spent years residing underneath police coverage however extra lately had traveled freely and in large part with out safety.
Mr. Rushdie has since been got rid of from a ventilator and his “road to recovery has begun,” his agent, Andrew Wylie, instructed The New York Times on Sunday. “It will be long; the injuries are severe, but his condition is headed in the right direction.”.
In courtroom on Saturday, prosecutors mentioned the assault used to be premeditated. Mr. Matar had traveled by means of bus to the highbrow retreat and bought a go that allowed him to wait Mr. Rushdie’s communicate on Friday morning, in line with the prosecutors.
