Rishi Sunak calls attack on Salman Rushdie 'wake up call' for West over Iran

UK Prime Ministerial candidate Rishi Sunak stated that the attack on author Salman Rushdie should serve as a "wake-up call" for the West over Iran. He has suggested that Britain should declare Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation after the attack on Salman Rushdie. The Telegraph reported. The former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has emphasised that Iran's response to the stabbing of Rushdie "bolstered the case for proscribing Tehran's elite military unit". 

Referring to reviving Iran's nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Rishi Sunak said that "nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat to Israel" and pose a risk to the whole of Europe with ballistic missile capability. He called for a "new strengthened deal" and imposing "tougher sanctions". Sunak suggested that if they are not able to yield results, they must question themselves if the JCPOA has reached its "dead end". Rishi Sunak's statement came after author Salman Rushdie was attacked in New York on 12 August. Sunak has called the situation in Iran "extremely serious" and stressed that they "can’t take our eye off the ball elsewhere" while standing up against Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Attack on Salman Rushdie 

Salman Rushdie was stabbed by a man who ran towards the stage as the author was about to begin his lecture in New York. Following the attack, Rushdie was airlifted to the hospital. He had damaged his liver, nerves in his arms were severed and could likely lose an eye. As per the latest reports, Salman Rushdie has been taken off a ventilator and is now able to speak as he undergoes treatment at UPMC Hamot in Pennsylvania. The suspect, Hadi Matar was charged in court with attempted murder and second-degree assault. Matar, a 24-year-old man from New Jersey, has been remanded without bail. 

Belgian MP claims Hadi Matar had fake driver's license

A preliminary investigation by police has stated that the social media accounts of Hadi Matar have suggested that he was sympathetic to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, there were no direct links found between Hadi Matar and the IRGC. Meanwhile, Belgian MP Darya Safai claimed that Rushdie's attacker had a fake driver's licence. Taking to her Twitter handle, Safai stated that Hadi Madar used a fake driver's licence bearing the name 'Hassan Mughniyah'. Darya Safai stressed that Hassan Nasrallah is Hezbollah's current leader while Imad Mughniyeh was a senior Hezbollah official close to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani.

Image: AP/PTI