TEHRAN -

The news of the assassination attempt on British writer of Indian origin, Salman Rushdie, sparked controversy in Iran;

A large segment of Iranians sided with the conspiracy theory, and saw the incident as an attempt to thwart reaching an agreement on the nuclear file, while another group rejected this interpretation, and considered the attack an implementation of a legitimate duty.

The adviser to the Iranian negotiating team, Muhammad Marandi, was the first to question the timing of the stabbing, which came just two days after the US Department of Justice accused a member of the Revolutionary Guards of plotting to kill John Bolton, the national security adviser to former President Donald Trump.

In a press statement, Marandi indicated that progress has been made in the Vienna nuclear negotiations, and asked, "Isn't it strange that with the approach of the possible nuclear agreement, America is making allegations about the assassination attempt on John Bolton, and the stabbing of Salman Rushdie is taking place at the present time?

Salman Rushdie was taken to hospital after an assassination attempt (Reuters)

In this context, the former Iranian diplomat, Mohsen Pak Ain, reads the assassination attempt on Salman Rushdie in the context of the American psychological war against his country, explaining that the closer the nuclear negotiations are to the signing stage, the more the activity of the anti- Iranian groups increases their psychological operations against Iran.

And he saw - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - that the scene of the stabbing operation of Salman Rushdie was suspicious, as he was on the platform without the strict guard he had been under for more than 3 decades, accusing the United States of conspiring against his country and contradiction;

It constantly declares its willingness to revive the nuclear agreement on the one hand, and adopts the language of threats and pressures on the other, as he described it.

Pak Ain concluded that his country is studying the European proposal to revive the nuclear agreement objectively, away from psychological warfare, stressing that "allegations of Iran's attempt to assassinate figures in the United States will not affect the fate of the negotiations aimed at reviving the nuclear agreement."


legal duty

On the other hand, a segment of conservative hawks in Iran goes to support everyone who supports Islam and puts an end to the abuse of the Islamic nation's sanctities by the enemies of the Islamic nation.

Another segment of the conservative hawks directed sharp criticism of the first spectrum, accusing it of falling into the enemy's trap and reducing the necessity of carrying out the legitimate duty to the level of worldly interests.

For its part, "Kayhan" newspaper, which is close to the office of the Supreme Leader in Iran, praised the behavior of the "brave man who attacked the apostate Salman Rushdie", stressing that his hand should be kissed.

Meanwhile, the former Iranian ambassador to Jordan and Lebanon, Ahmed Dastamaljian, considered that the attempt to assassinate Salman Rushdie came in implementation of a legal ruling that is obligatory for every Muslim, and that the value of the religious fatwa should not be reduced to the level of worldly interests, according to him.

And he stressed - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net, that the fatwa issued by the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini 33 years ago, is still valid against Salman Rushdie, explaining that the religious fatwa prevented the recurrence of abuses against Islamic sanctities.

Dastmaljian concluded by saying that the fate of Salman Rushdie awaits all those who tempt them to offend Islamic sanctities, stressing that his country had previously allocated a prize for the execution of Salman Rushdie, and that it would provide more than 3 million dollars as a reward for whoever kills him.

For its part, the semi-official Fars Agency republished the text of Khomeini’s fatwa against Salman Rushdie, which included an explicit call for “zealous Muslims” to initiate the execution of “the author of the book (The Satanic Verses) which was written, printed and distributed with the aim of antagonizing Islam, the Messenger and the Qur’an, as well as the publishers. Those familiar with the contents of the book.

#Salman_Rushdi is an apostate of Ast and has the judgment of Hazrat Imam Bayad Execution of Shawd, Nabareen Ettifaq Khobi Iftaa Ast, now do you want Marandi Najran to be rewarded?

Agar, you are an atom of political reason, Dashta Bashid, Hawash Ra, Jama' Mikand Ke Sakhnan, Namarbut Nizand.

The coup d'état Khoshhal Ast na Najran!

— Syed Saeed Lawasani (@lavasani_13) August 13, 2022

social media platforms

The controversy over Salman Rushdie's stabbing spread to social media platforms;

Where, in his tweet on Twitter, Reza Nasri, professor of foreign policy at Tehran University, expected that opponents of the nuclear agreement and the Israeli lobby would use the attack on Salman Rushdie to point the finger at Iran and link the incident to the nuclear agreement.

On the other hand, Sheikh Saeed Lawasani - Friday preacher of Lawasan district, northwest of the capital, Tehran - criticized the position of supporters of the conspiracy theory in the stabbing of Salman Rushdie, stressing that he is an apostate and must be executed, according to Khomeini's fatwa.