Iran sparked fury yesterday by claiming Salman Rushdie and his supporters are solely to blame for him being stabbed.
Officials denied any link to Friday’s attack on the author despite the country placing a £2.3million bounty on his head.
Suspect Hadi Matar’s mother also broke her silence to say she was disowning her son.
Sir Salman has faced years of death threats over his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, which is said to be blasphemous.
Iran’s state broadcaster daily Jaam-e Jam highlighted the news that he might lose an eye, saying “an eye of the Satan has been blinded”.
Foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Tehran “categorically” denied any link, adding: “No one has the right to accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran.” However, he said freedom of speech did not justify Sir Salman, 75, insulting religion in his writing.
“We do not consider anyone other than Salman Rushdie and his supporters worthy of blame and even condemnation,” the spokesman said.
“By crossing the red lines of more than 1.5 billion Muslims, Rushdie has exposed himself to the anger and rage of the people.”
Sir Salman was stabbed about 12 times at a literary event in Chautauqua, New York. One of the blows to his face punctured his eye and another to the abdomen, punctured his liver.
There were also stab wounds to the abdomen and chest area.
Matar, 24, of Fairview, New Jersey, pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault in court on Saturday.
His mother Silvana Fardos, a teacher and translator, said: "I feel sorry for Mr Rushdie. I just cannot believe my son was capable of doing something like this.
“He was very quiet. Everyone loved him. I’m not going to bother talking to [my son] again. He’s responsible for his actions.”
She said her son had returned from a month-long trip to Lebanon in 2018 as a changed person and “locked himself in the basement”.
He was miserable after visiting his father, whom she divorced in 2004, and she sensed his religious beliefs were becoming radical.
“One time, he argued with me, asking why I encouraged him to get an education instead of focusing on religion,” she said. “He was angry that I did not introduce him to Islam from a young age.”
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken condemned the attack.
He added: “Iranian state institutions have incited violence against Rushdie for generations, and state-affiliated media recently gloated about the attempt on his life. This is despicable.”
