An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman blamed author Salman Rushdie himself on Monday for the violent attack that left him severely injured, and denied any role was played by Iran in the attack.
Mr. Rushdie was stabbed about 10 times on Friday while speaking at the Chautauqua Institute in western New York. He suffered multiple injuries, including a damaged liver, and is expected to lose an eye.
In Tehran’s first official statement since the attack, spokesman Nasser Kanaani blamed Mr. Rushdie.
According to Iran’s Student News Agency, Mr Kanaani said Mr Rushdie had crossed a “red line” and “exposed to the anger and indignation of the people”. He said that Tehran had no information about the attacker beyond what was reported in the US media.
“In this case, we are not blaming or condemning anyone but Salman Rushdie and his supporters,” Kanaani said.
Police arrested Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man from New Jersey, in the attack.
Mr. Rushdie, a famous writer, was once the subject of a work released in 1989 by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then the supreme leader of Iran, who ordered the Muslims to kill him and put him to death. price to his head several million dollars. He was targeted for his novel “Verses of Satan”, which drew outrage in many parts of the Muslim world because of its depiction of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
In 1998, President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, who is considered relatively liberal, said that the country no longer supported killing. But the fatwa is still in place.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken accused Iran of “inciting violence against Rushdie for generations,” saying in a statement that “the state-linked media has recently gloated a lot about his attempt at life.”
“This is despicable,” he added.
Mr. Rushdie spent many years living under police protection but lately he has been traveling freely and largely without security.
Friday’s attack came minutes before he gave a talk at the Chautauqua Institute, a reverent cultural retreat.
Mr Rushdie has since been taken off the ventilator and “his road to recovery has begun,” said his representative, Andrew Wylie, told The New York Times on Sunday. “It will be a long time; The injuries are serious, but his condition is on track. “
In court on Saturday, prosecutors said the attack was premeditated. According to prosecutors, Mr. Matar took a bus to the retreat and purchased a pass that would allow him to attend Rushdie’s talk on Friday morning.
