'His Supporters Are To Blame For Attack': Iran Claims It Was Not Involved In Stabbing Of Salman Rushdie

US officials have described the attack as a "targeted, unprovoked, and preplanned" attack.

British author Salman Rushdie takes part in the TV show (Source: File photo/AFP)

New Delhi: An Iranian government official on Monday denied Tehran was involved in the attack on author Salman Rushdie, as reported by the news agency Reuters. It is the first public statement issued by Iran since Friday's attack on Rushdie. “We, in the incident of the attack on Salman Rushdie in the U.S., do not consider that anyone deserves blame and accusations except him and his supporters,” Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman of Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said. “Nobody has right to accuse Iran in this regard.”

Rushdie, 75, was stabbed by a 24-year-old man named Hadi Matar, who apparently sympathised with Shia extremism and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, stabbed the author in his neck and abdomen. US officials have described the attack as a "targeted, unprovoked, and preplanned" attack.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that Iran's government institutions instigated violence against the Indian-origin author for a long time and that the state media did not even condemn the recent attack on him.

“Specifically, Iranian state institutions have incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and state-affiliated media recently gloated about the attempt on his life. This is despicable,” Blinken said.

In a statement, Biden praised the author of The Satanic Verses for his 'refusal to be intimidated or silenced.'

"Jill and I were shocked and saddened to learn of the vicious attack on Salman Rushdie yesterday in New York. We, together with all Americans and people around the world, are praying for his health and recovery. I am grateful to the first responders and the brave individuals who jumped into action to render aid to Rushdie and subdue the attacker," Biden said in a statement.

The author had faced Islamist death threats for years after writing the controversial book The Satanic Verses. The accused, who is a US national of Lebanese origin, attacked him on stage on Friday while he was being introduced at a literary event at the Chautauqua Institution in Western New York.

"The news is not good," said the 75-year-old writer's agent, Andrew Wylie about Rushdie's critical health condition. The incident sent shockwaves across the literary world which condemned the incident as an attack on freedom of expression.