An Iranian government official has denied that Tehran was involved in the assault on author Salman Rushdie, in remarks that were the country's first public comments on the attack.
"We, in the incident of the attack on Salman Rushdie in the US, do not consider that anyone deserves blame and accusations except him and his supporters," Nasser Kanaani, the spokesman of Iran's foreign ministry, told reporters on Monday.
"Nobody has right to accuse Iran in this regard."
Rushdie, 75, was stabbed on Friday while attending an event in western New York.
He suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in an arm and an eye, his agent said. He was likely to lose the injured eye.
His assailant, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, has pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the attack through his lawyer.
Writers and politicians around the world have condemned the attack.
The award-winning author for more than 30 years has faced death threats for The Satanic Verses.
Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had issued a fatwa, or Islamic edict, demanding his death.
An Iranian foundation had put up a bounty of more than $US3 million ($A4.2 million) for the author.
Kanaani said Iran did not "have any other information more than what the American media has reported".
Australian Associated Press
