• Iran has “categorically” denied any involvement in Salman Rushdie’s assailant but has placed the blame on the author.
• During a performance in New York State, Mr. Rushdie, 75, was stabbed on stage and suffered serious injuries.
• For his book The Satanic Verses, he has received death threats for many years.

Iran has “categorically” denied any involvement in Salman Rushdie’s assailant but has placed the blame on the author.

During a performance in New York State, Mr. Rushdie, 75, was stabbed on stage and suffered serious injuries. He can now breathe on his own.

For his book The Satanic Verses, he has received death threats for many years.

Prior to this, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Iran’s state media for its “despicable” behavior and said that they were celebrating the strike.

Nasser Kanaani Tehran, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, “categorically” rejected any involvement in the incident and added that “nobody has the authority to accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

But he said that the right to free expression does not excuse Mr. Rushdie from disparaging religion in his writing.

During his weekly press conference in Tehran, the spokesman declared, “We do not consider anyone other than Salman Rushdie and his supporters worthy of blame and even condemnation in this incident.”

Additional to what had been reported in the media, Iran had no other knowledge about Rushdie’s attacker, he continued.

Earlier, Mr. Blinken had criticized Iran’s government for encouraging violence against the author.

Mr. Rushdie has “consistently stood up for the universal rights of freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, and freedom of the press,” he claimed in a statement.

I am reminded of the evil forces that work to restrict fundamental rights, especially through hate speech and violent instigation, as law enforcement officers look into the attack.

“In particular, state-affiliated media recently boasted about the attempt on Rushdie’s life, and Iranian official institutions have long incited violence against him. This is disgusting.”

In order to counter what he called “these dangers,” Mr. Blinken added, the US and its allies would employ “every relevant tool” at their disposal.

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