After Iran's foreign ministry suggested author Salman Rushdie was to blame for the assault against him, the UK said it is "ludicrous" to suggest that novelist was responsible for the attack.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday, "Clearly it is ludicrous to suggest that Salman Rushdie was in any way responsible for this abhorrent attack on him.”
"This was not just an attack on him, it was an attack on the right to free speech and expression and the UK government stands both by him and his family, but equally we stand in defense of free speech around the world."
Earlier in the day, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani repeated Iran's position that Rushdie had insulted Prophet Muhammed and is guilty. "Salman Rushdie exposed himself to popular outrage by insulting Islamic sanctities and crossing the red lines of 1.5 billion Muslims," Kanaani said. "We do not consider anyone other than himself and his supporters worthy of reproach and condemnation...No one has the right to accuse Iran in this regard."
On Saturday, prime ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak said the UK must sanction Iran over the attack on Rushdie as police believe the perpetrator was sympathetic to Shiite extremism and IRGC.
Hadi Matar, the pro-Iran fanatic that stabbed the author at an event in New York state on Friday, was charged with attempted murder on Saturday, August 13.
A preliminary investigation by police suggested he was sympathetic to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, as his Facebook account featured pictures of Qasem Soleimani, the IRGC general who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020, and Iran’s Supreme Leader.
