Salman Rushdie and his supporters are to blame for the attack in which he was stabbed repeatedly at a public appearance in New York state, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has said.

Freedom of speech did not justify Rushdie’s insults upon religion in his writing, Nasser Kanaani said in a press briefing on Monday.

Iran had no other information about Rushdie’s alleged assailant except what had appeared in media, he added.