Iran Denies Link to Rushdie Stabbing

Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday denied any Iranian involvement in the stabbing of author Salman Rushdie. 

A ministry spokesman told journalists that the Iran considers no one "deserves blame and accusations except him and his supporters."

Rushdie's agent said Sunday that while the author faced a long recovery, his "condition is headed in the right direction." Rushdie's son, Zafar Rushdie, said in a statement, "Though his life changing injuries are severe, his usual feisty and defiant sense of humour remains intact."

An attacker repeatedly stabbed Rushdie Sunday as he was about to deliver an address on artistic freedom at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York state.

Hadi Matar, the man accused of attacking Rushdie, pleaded not guilty Saturday to charges of attempted murder and assault. He is being held without bail.

The 1988 publication of Rushdie's book "The Satanic Verses" prompted Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran's supreme leader at the time, to issue a fatwa to kill Rushdie and anyone involved with the book's publication because the subject matter was deemed blasphemous to Islam. 

A fatwa is an Islamic religious decree. While Khomeini has died, the fatwa remains in effect. Rushdie lived in seclusion for about nine years after the issuance of the fatwa but has lived a more open life since.