TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran “categorically” denied Monday any link with the attacker who stabbed British writer Salman Rushdie, author of the purportedly blasphemous novel “The Satanic Verses,” but blamed the writer himself.
“We categorically deny” any link with the attack and “no one has the right to accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran,” foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said in Tehran’s first official reaction to Friday’s stabbing.
“In this attack, we do not consider anyone other than Salman Rushdie and his supporters worthy of blame and even condemnation,” he said at his weekly press conference in Tehran.
“By insulting the sacred matters of Islam and crossing the red lines of more than one and a half billion Muslims and all followers of the divine religions, Salman Rushdie has exposed himself to the anger and rage of the people.”
Rushdie, 75, was left on a ventilator with multiple stab wounds after he was attacked at a literary event Friday in western New York state.
The prize-winning writer had spent years under police protection after Iranian leaders called for Rushdie’s killing over his portrayal of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed in the novel.
The suspected assailant, 24-year-old Hadi Matar from New Jersey, was wrestled to the ground by staff and other audience members before being taken into police custody.
He was later arraigned in court and pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges.