Iran denies its connection to the attack on Salman Rushdie and blames him and his supporters

Iran denied - this morning, Monday - its connection to the attack on the British writer of Indian origin, Salman Rushdie, last Friday, considering that freedom of expression does not justify his abuse of religion.

"No one deserves blame and accusation for the attack on Salman Rushdie in the United States except him and his supporters," Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said at a press conference in Tehran.

He added, "We firmly and officially deny" any connection to the perpetrator of the attack, stressing that no one has the right to accuse Iran, as he put it.

Kanaani explained that Rushdie exposed himself to the anger of people, not only Muslims but also followers of other monotheistic religions, by insulting Islamic sanctities and crossing the red line of more than 1.5 billion Muslims, as well as the red lines of all followers of monotheistic religions, as he put it.

Kanaani considered that freedom of expression does not justify Rushdie's abuse of religion in his writings.

An investigation into the motives

A young American of Lebanese origin, Hadi Matar, stabbed Rushdie in several parts of his body, injuring him in the liver and the eye, while standing on a stage in New York in preparation for a lecture.

On Saturday, the US judiciary announced the accusation of "attempted murder and assault" against Matar, who filed an acquittal before a New York court.

And Vice World News quoted European and Middle Eastern intelligence officials as saying that Matar was in direct contact with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and that the stabbing incident bore all the hallmarks of a "targeted" attack.

The site added that security officials deny the existence of evidence of Iran's involvement in the attack on the country so far.

Earlier, NBC New York reported that a preliminary review by investigators of Matar's accounts on the communication sites showed that he had "extremist Shiite tendencies" and expressed sympathy with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, although no specific links were found between them.

Rushdie had published his novel "The Satanic Verses" in 1988, which included insults to Islam, which prompted the then Iranian guide Khomeini to issue a fatwa to kill this novelist and anyone involved in publishing the novel.

The Iranian government said in 1998 that it no longer supported the fatwa, but Rushdie continued to enjoy personal protection.