Salman Rushdie / Britannica.com
An Iranian government official has blamed the author Sir Salman Rushdie for the attack on his life last week. Iran’s state-affiliated newspapers have run headlines praising the attack, referring to Rushdie as “Satan” and his attack proof of “divine orders”. Other Iranian outlets have gone as far to call for further attacks on former U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The remarks were made by the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Nasser Kanaani, in a briefing with journalists on Monday. Kanaani “categorically denied” any Iranian link to the attack but stated: “In this attack, we do not consider anyone other than Salman Rushdie and his supporters worthy of blame and even condemnation…Salman Rushdie has exposed himself to the anger and rage of the people”. Rushdie was stabbed last Friday by 22-year-old Hadi Matar, while attending an event in New York state. He suffered damage to his liver, arm, and eye, with him being likely to lose the eye.
Rushdie wrote the novel “The Satanic Verses” in 1988 and has received numerous death threats since. This was made worse when the late Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa demanding his death in 1989 and an Iranian foundation offered a $3 million bounty for proof of his execution. Mr Matar has denied having links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and refused to say if he was following the fatwa. However, he has praised Khomeini as “a great person”.
Although, Kanaani’s remarks did not openly praise the attack, other Iranian regime-affiliated media outlets did. The Iranian newspaper ‘Kayhan’, which is owned by Ayatollah Khamenei ran the headline “Salman Rushdie Trapped in Divine Revenge: Trump and Pompeo Are Next Targets”. The article said that the attack should be considered an Iranian response to the killing of IRGC General Qasem Soleimani two years ago and stated: “The attack on Salman Rushdie proves that getting revenge against criminals on U.S. territory is not difficult, and from now on Trump and Pompeo will find themselves under more serious threat”.
Another state-run newspaper ‘Iran’ said that the attack on Rushdie represented “a new phenomenon that reveals how faith in divine orders is still alive and well in the heart of the modern world”. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, which is directly controlled by Khamenei, ran the headline in its newspaper Jam-e Jam “The Satan’s Eyes Are Blinded”. It then went on to openly praise the attack and said it proves the “power of the truth”.
