Tehran has categorically denied any association with Hadi Matar, who last Friday attacked The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie at a cultural event in the US.
Today, Monday, at a press briefing, Nasser Kanaani, the spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said: “We followed up on the issue in the media.” The little information we have on the operation’s perpetrator comes from the Western media. We vehemently reject any association with Iran.
In response to the criticism of Rushdie, Kanaani declared: “We hold only Rushdie and his supporters accountable.” Infringing on the sacredness of a heavenly religion and a divine messenger, he crossed the barriers that separate Muslims from followers of the divine religions, exposing himself to massive public hostility.
According to Bagheri, the negotiation teams’ discussions in Vienna were centred on these two issues. “Based on the strategies identified for us, we stressed the need to end the political allegations related to the safeguards agreement with the agency as well as to obtain the necessary guarantees for the sustainability of our economic benefit from the agreement.
It should be noted that the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa in 1989 calling for Rushdie’s blood because of his book The Satanic Verses, which was perceived as ridiculing the Quran and Muslim sanctuaries.
Iran officially denies any connection to the assailant who attacked Rushdie.
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