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An Iranian government official on Monday claimed Tehran was not involved in the recent attack on writer Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed in New York before a scheduled speech.
In Iran’s first public comments addressing the attack, the country’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a briefing to journalists that Iran should not be accused of being involved.
“We do not believe that anyone other than him and his supporters deserves blame and accusation in the incident of the attack on Salman Rushdie in the United States,” Kanani said. No one has the right to accuse Iran of
Rushdie was stabbed multiple times before giving a speech at the Chautauqua Institute in Chautauqua, New York on Friday. The attacker allegedly rushed onto the stage and stabbed him. Rushdie underwent surgery at a local hospital.
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He damaged his liver and severed the nerves in his arms and eyes. His agent said he would likely lose his injured eye.
The alleged perpetrator, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the assault.
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Rushdie has lived under the threat of a fatwa after Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini denounced his book Satanic Verses as blasphemy in 1989 and demanded the author’s death . The book was also banned in Iran. Fatwas are decrees by Muslim religious leaders.
Iran gave over $3 million to those who killed Rushdie.
iranian government Although he has since distanced himself from Khomeini’s orders, Rushdie still faced opposition. I was.
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Kanani explained that Iran “has no information beyond what the US media reported.”
“It is a contradictory attitude for the West to condemn the actions of the perpetrators and instead praise the actions of those who insult the Islamic faith,” Kanani said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.