US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused Iran’s fundamentalist regime of inspiring the attack on writer Salman Rushdie, who was the target of an attack in New York late last week.
“Iranian institutions have incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and the state press celebrates the attempt to take his life. It is despicable,” Blinken said on Sunday.
According to the secretary, “harmful forces” are trying to “undermine” freedom of expression, religion and the press, “including hate speech.”
“The United States and its partners will not hesitate in their determination to counter these threats using all appropriate means at our disposal. Rushdie’s strength strengthens our resolve and underlines the imperative to unite against those who threaten these universal rights.” Added Blinken.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs “categorically” denied responsibility for the attack on the author. “No one has the right to accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the ministry said in a statement Monday, 15.
Rushdie, 75, was stabbed while preparing to give a lecture in Chautauqua, New York. He remains in the hospital, but is already recovering. The attacker, 24-year-old American Hadi Matar, who sympathizes with the Iranian regime, has been arrested and will be charged with attempted murder.
The author became a target of Tehran for his novel “The Satanic Verses” (1988), which criticizes Islam. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Iran’s chief guide and leader of the 1979 revolution, even offered money for Rushdie’s death and urged Muslims around the world to assassinate the writer.
source: Noticias
[author_name]
