(ANSA) - TEHERÁN, AUG 15 - Unique in the Biden administration, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has explicitly accused Iran of at least inspiring the attack on Salman Rushdie.
"Iranian institutions have been inciting violence against the writer for years and the state media in recent days have rejoiced over the attack against him. All of this is despicable," Blinken said in a statement released by the State Department.
For its part, the Tehran government has "categorically" denied any connection with the aggressor.
"We categorically deny" any connection with the aggressor and "no one has the right to accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani.
This is Tehran's first official reaction to the writer's stabbing last Friday during a literary holiday in New York State.
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