The country’s political and religious authorities have yet to comment on the attack the writer suffered yesterday
The press with ties to the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran cheered yesterday’s assassination attempt on British writer of Indian descent Salman Rushdie at an event in upstate New York that left the former Booker Prize winner, persecuted for years by a edict of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, admitted in a very serious condition.
The country’s government has not yet issued a clear statement, but sectors of the press associated with the country’s ecclesiastical establishment have been talking about it. Conservative newspaper ‘Keyhan’, whose directors are directly appointed by the current Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, has branded the aggressor, Hadi Matar, as a “brave and dutiful man” before applauding him for attacking “the apostate and depraved Salman Rushdie”. While today’s front page of the daily ‘Jorasan’, the dean of national newspapers, applauded the assassination attempt and prayed, ‘Satan is on his way to hell’.
The portal Eghtesad Salem, another conservative newspaper, today referred to the fact that what happened is sending a message to the United States and its political leaders, “that they should fear Iran’s revenge.” Others, such as the reformist Etemad, have limited themselves to reporting on the Rushdie stabbing without expressing an opinion.
The political and religious authorities, for their part, have opted for prudence and have made no statements at this time about what has happened. On social networks, some sectors have responded by celebrating the attack and have shared a proclamation shared by Ayatollah Khamenei saying that the fatwa against Rushdie was “firing a bullet that won’t stop until it hits its target”.
The only Iranian official to speak out in this regard so far is Mohamed Marandi, the adviser to the Iran nuclear deal negotiator’s team, who declared his indifference to Rushdie’s health in a tweet: “I am not going cry by a writer who spits endless hatred and contempt for Muslims and Islam.”
The shocking attack on Rushdie has also provoked a reaction from several world leaders. “His struggle is our struggle, it is universal. Now more than ever we are by your side,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media.
From the White House, they also claimed last night that the attack on Rushdie was something “terrible”. “We are all praying for his speedy recovery and we are grateful to the good citizens and first responders for helping him so quickly,” said White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The Spanish government was among those who wanted to condemn the attack on the writer. It has done so through the Minister of the Presidency, Relations with the Courts and Democratic Memory, Félix Bolaños, who has warned that “fanaticism and extremism” are a “threat” to “coexistence, democracies and the need” of people to ” to live in peace”.
There are also encouraging messages for Rushdie outside of politics. British novelist Ian McEwan, a close friend of the writer, has assured that the author of The Satanic Verses will not be “intimidated” by the attack he suffered at a conference in New York on Friday. “This horrific attack on my dear friend Salman is an attack on freedom of thought and expression,” McEwan said in a statement on his official website.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
