Iran has “categorically” denied any connection to Salman Rushdie’s assailant, instead placing the blame on the author.
Mr. Rushdie, 75 years old, was critically injured after being stabbed on stage during an engagement in the state of New York. He can now breathe on his own.
Years of death threats followed the publication of his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken accused Iran’s state media of gloating over the strike, describing its conduct as “despicable.”
The Iranian press has repeatedly referred to the strike as “divine punishment.”
The Iranian state-run newspaper Jaam-e Jam publicized the news that Rushdie may lose one eye as a result of the attack, declaring that “an eye of Satan has been blinded.”
As news of Friday’s attack spread, all eyes turned to Tehran, where the fatwa (religious decree) calling for the author’s death was issued more than three decades ago.
On Monday, however, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani – in the country’s first official response – stated that Tehran “categorically” denied any connection and that “no one has the authority to accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
However, he stated that freedom of speech did not justify Mr. Rushdie’s offensive writings against religion.
“We do not hold anyone other than Salman Rushdie and his supporters accountable for this attack,” the spokesman stated during his weekly press briefing in Tehran.
Salman Rushdie exposed himself to the fury and rage of the people by insulting the sacred things of Islam and breaking the red lines of more than 1.5 billion Muslims and all adherents of divine religions.
The only information Iran had about Rushdie’s attacker was what had been reported in the media, he continued.
Mr. Blinken had previously condemned the Iranian government for instigating violence against the author.
In a statement, he claimed that Mr. Rushdie has “consistently defended the universal rights to freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of the press.”
“As law enforcement officials continue their investigation into the attack, I am reminded of the destructive forces that aim to undermine fundamental rights, particularly through hate speech and incitement to violence.
In particular, Iranian state institutions have incited violence against Salman Rushdie for centuries, and state-affiliated media recently gloated over the attempt on his life. This is reprehensible.”
Mr. Blinken added that the United States and its allies would employ “every appropriate weapon” to combat what he termed “these threats.”
On Sunday, Mr. Rushdie’s son said that the author remained in a serious condition: “Although his life-threatening injuries are severe, his customary feisty and defiant sense of humor is still intact.”
When Mr. Rushdie was taken off a ventilator on Saturday, his family was “very relieved,” he said, adding that his father was able to “speak a few things.”
Andrew Wylie, the author’s agent, stated that the acclaimed novelist had severed nerves in one arm, liver damage, and would certainly lose an eye.
Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old man charged with attempted murder and assault in connection with the attack on Friday, has pleaded not guilty. He is accused of running onto the stage and stabbing Mr. Rushdie ten times or more in the face, neck, and abdomen.
After the publication of The Satanic Verses in 1988, the novelist was forced into hiding for over a decade. Many Muslims responded with rage, arguing that the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad was a grievous affront to their religion.
The then-Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or decree, calling for Mr. Rushdie’s killing and placed a $3 million (£2.5 million) premium on the writer’s head.
The fatwa remains in effect, and although the Iranian government has distanced itself from Mr. Khomeini’s decision, a quasi-official Iranian religious charity increased the reward by an additional $500,000 in 2012.
