Salman Rushdie attends the 68th National Book Awards and Benefit Dinner on November 15, 2017 in New York City.
Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
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Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
Salman Rushdie attends the 68th National Book Awards and Benefit Dinner on November 15, 2017 in New York City.
Evan Agostini/Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian government official denied on Monday that Tehran was involved in the attack on author Salman Rushdie, in remarks that marked the country’s first public comments on the attack.
This was stated by the press secretary of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, at a press briefing.
“We, in the case of the attack on Salman Rushdie in the United States, do not think that anyone deserves the blame and accusations, except for him and his supporters,” Kanaani said. “No one has the right to accuse Iran in this regard.”
Rushdie, 75, was stabbed Friday during an event in western New York. He has a damaged liver and torn nerves in his arm and eye, his agent said. He probably lost the injured eye.
His attacker, Hadi Matar, 24, has pleaded not guilty to charges related to the attack through his lawyer.
The award-winning author of more than 30 years received death threats for The Satanic Verses. Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or Islamic edict, calling for his death. The Iranian Foundation awarded the author an award of more than 3 million dollars.
Kanaani added that Iran “has no information other than what the American media reports.”
The West “condemns the actions of the attacker and in return glorifies the actions of the insulter of Islamic beliefs is a contradictory attitude,” Kanaani said.
