Iran Denies Involvement in Attack on Writer Salman Rushdie
2022-08-16
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1An Iranian official Monday denied that Iran was involved in the attack on writer Salman Rushdie.
2However, the official sought to justify the attack in the country's first public comments on the incident.
3The statement came from Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry.
4The comments came three days after Rushdie was stabbed several times during a talk in the U.S. state of New York.
5The attack left him seriously injured.
6Rushdie's business agent said Sunday that the writer is "on the road to recovery," and was no longer on a breathing machine.
7Rushdie is 75 years old. He suffered damage to his liver.
8Nerves in an arm and in one of his eyes were cut.
9He is likely to lose the eye, his agent said. He remains in serious condition.
10"Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual...sense of humor remains intact," Rushdie's son Zafar Rushdie said in a Sunday statement.
11Rushdie has faced death threats for more than 30 years over his book The Satanic Verses.
12Muslim leaders considered the representation of the Prophet Muhammad in the book to be blasphemous.
13In 1989, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, demanding the writer's death.
14While Iran has not paid attention to Rushdie in recent years, the fatwa still stands.
15Also, a partly official Iranian organization had offered over $3 million for the killing of the writer. It has not commented on the attack.
16"Regarding the attack against Salman Rushdie in America, we don't consider anyone deserving reproach, blame or even condemnation, except for (Rushdie) himself and his supporters," Kanaani said.
17He added, "no one can blame the Islamic Republic of Iran."
18Iran has denied carrying out other attacks in foreign countries against political opponents in the years since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.
19But investigators and Western governments have blamed such attacks on Iran.
20Rushdie was attacked Friday as he was about to give a talk in New York state.
21 His accused attacker was 24-year-old Hadi Matar.
22He told a court he was not guilty of the attempted murder and attack.
23Police in New York have offered no reason for the attack.
24But District Attorney Jason Schmidt noted the promised payment for an attack on Rushdie.
25He argued against bail during a hearing for the suspect over the weekend.
26Matar was born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from a small town in southern Lebanon near the Israel border.
27Flags of the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah hang across the town.
28There are also pictures of Hezbollah and Iranian leaders there.
29Village records show Matar holds Lebanese citizenship and is a Shiite Muslim, an official there said.
30The official said Matar's father lives there but has been in hiding since the attack.
31In his remarks Monday, Kanaani added that Iran does not "have any other information more than what the American media has reported."
32He also suggested that Rushdie brought the attack on himself.
33"Salman Rushdie exposed himself to popular anger and fury through insulting the sacredness of Islam and crossing the red lines of over 1.5 billion Muslims," Kanaani said.
34U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not directly blame Iran for the attack.
35But he denounced Iran in a statement Monday praising the writer's support for freedom of expression and religion.
36Fatwas can be cancelled. But Iran's current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who took over after Khomeini's death, has never done so.
37I'm Dan Novak.
1An Iranian official Monday denied that Iran was involved in the attack on writer Salman Rushdie. 2However, the official sought to justify the attack in the country's first public comments on the incident. 3The statement came from Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry. The comments came three days after Rushdie was stabbed several times during a talk in the U.S. state of New York. The attack left him seriously injured. 4Rushdie's business agent said Sunday that the writer is "on the road to recovery," and was no longer on a breathing machine. Rushdie is 75 years old. He suffered damage to his liver. Nerves in an arm and in one of his eyes were cut. He is likely to lose the eye, his agent said. He remains in serious condition. 5"Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual...sense of humor remains intact," Rushdie's son Zafar Rushdie said in a Sunday statement. 6Rushdie has faced death threats for more than 30 years over his book The Satanic Verses. Muslim leaders considered the representation of the Prophet Muhammad in the book to be blasphemous. 7In 1989, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or Islamic ruling, demanding the writer's death. While Iran has not paid attention to Rushdie in recent years, the fatwa still stands. 8Also, a partly official Iranian organization had offered over $3 million for the killing of the writer. It has not commented on the attack. 9"Regarding the attack against Salman Rushdie in America, we don't consider anyone deserving reproach, blame or even condemnation, except for (Rushdie) himself and his supporters," Kanaani said. 10He added, "no one can blame the Islamic Republic of Iran." 11Iran has denied carrying out other attacks in foreign countries against political opponents in the years since the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution. But investigators and Western governments have blamed such attacks on Iran. 12Rushdie was attacked Friday as he was about to give a talk in New York state. His accused attacker was 24-year-old Hadi Matar. He told a court he was not guilty of the attempted murder and attack. 13Police in New York have offered no reason for the attack. But District Attorney Jason Schmidt noted the promised payment for an attack on Rushdie. He argued against bail during a hearing for the suspect over the weekend. 14Matar was born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from a small town in southern Lebanon near the Israel border. Flags of the Iranian-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah hang across the town. There are also pictures of Hezbollah and Iranian leaders there. 15Village records show Matar holds Lebanese citizenship and is a Shiite Muslim, an official there said. The official said Matar's father lives there but has been in hiding since the attack. 16In his remarks Monday, Kanaani added that Iran does not "have any other information more than what the American media has reported." He also suggested that Rushdie brought the attack on himself. 17"Salman Rushdie exposed himself to popular anger and fury through insulting the sacredness of Islam and crossing the red lines of over 1.5 billion Muslims," Kanaani said. 18U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken did not directly blame Iran for the attack. But he denounced Iran in a statement Monday praising the writer's support for freedom of expression and religion. 19Fatwas can be cancelled. But Iran's current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who took over after Khomeini's death, has never done so. 20I'm Dan Novak. 21Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 22__________________________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24stab - v. to wound someone with a pointed weapon like a knife 25blasphemous - adj. something greatly disrespectful of God or something held holy 26reproach - n. an expression of disapproval 27bail - n. an amount of money given to a court to permit an accused person to leave prison before his trail 28fury - n. extreme anger 29sacred - adj. greatly honored by a religion 30___________________________________________________________________ 31We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 32Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.