Iran dissociates itself from Rushdie death sentence

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Iran's foreign minister said Thursday that his country had distanced itself from the death sentence pronounced on British author Salman Rushdie by the revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

In London, Rushdie, who has been living in hiding under British police protection ever since, said the announcement "means freedom."

"The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention, nor is it going to take any action whatsoever, to threaten the life of (Rushdie) ... nor will it encourage or assist anybody to do so," Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi said.

After the formal statement, Iran and Britain announced they were upgrading their diplomatic relations.

The religious decree, known as a fatwa, was issued by Khomeini, because he considered Rushdie's book, "The Satanic Verses," to be blasphemous against Islam. Its publication in 1989 caused an uproar among Muslims around the world.

Kharrazi repeated Iran's strong condemnation of the book, which he said "insults our sacred Islamic values."

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said Britain "regretted the offense that the book" had caused to Muslims. He said neither Britain nor the European Union condoned the book's content, but that Britain upheld the right of an individual to express views freely.

'This looks like it's over'

Kharrazi said the Iranian government will not support any reward that has been offered for the life of Rushdie. An Iranian revolutionary foundation has placed a $2.5 million bounty on Rushdie's head.

"The Iranian government "disassociates itself from any reward which has been offered in this regard and does not support it," Kharrazi said.

Rushdie was visibly relieved.

"This looks like it's over," Rushdie said. "It means everything, it means freedom."

Relations between Iran and Great Britain degenerated after the fatwa was issued against Rushdie, an Indian-born British writer. However, Thursday's announcement does not mean the fatwa has been lifted; Iranian religious leaders say the decree cannot be rescinded.

Britain, Iran restore diplomatic ties

Cook, left, shakes hands with Kharrazi Thursday

Iran's decision to settle the Rushdie matter was followed by an agreement between Iran and Britain to improve their diplomatic relations.

Kharrazi said he and Cook "agreed that we are now able to upgrade our relations to the ambassadorial level."

"These assurances should make possible a much more constructive relationship between the United Kingdom, and I believe the European Union, with Iran, and the opening of a new chapter in our relations," Cook said.

Rushdie said the Iranian government's decision appears to have broad support within Iran.

"It seems this has been done in Iran with consensus. There doesn't seem to be any opposition to it," he said.

He said there may be one or two "self-styled hard-liners" still in England but dismissed them as unimportant.

An 'abusive and profane book'

But a British Muslim leader said British Muslims had never intended to harm or kill Rushdie, and that the issue was not resolved by Iran's announcement.

"There is no resolution of the problem as long as this very abusive and profane book is in publication and circulation," said Iqbal Sacranie of the U.K. Action Committee for Islamic Affairs.

"We urge the publishers and the author that, if they are genuinely interested in bringing an end to this controversy, they have to look at the root cause which was the book, not the fatwa," he said.

A Foreign Office spokesman said Rushdie was in that office to hear the Iranian news as it broke. Rushdie said he talked to Cook on the phone.

The International Committee for the Defense of Salman Rushdie and his Publishers made no comment, but planned to hold a news conference on Friday.

Some involved with the book killed

Rushdie will continue to receive protection based on the British security services' assessment of the threat. Cook said the agreement did not guarantee Rushdie's safety, but it did mark a "very sharp reduction" in the threat to his life.

"Today's agreement does not embrace any renegade fanatic who may wish to still try to carry out a threat to the life of Salman Rushdie," Cook said on Britain's Channel 4 news.

Officials said Britain had thwarted several attempts on the Indian-born writer's life since the fatwa was issued in February 1989.

Over the last decade, several people associated with the book have been killed or injured, although investigators have never linked the Iranian government directly to the attacks.

Hitoshi Igarashi, a Japanese scholar who translated the book, was stabbed to death in July 1991. Italian translator Ettore Caprioli was wounded in a knife attack the same month.

In July 1993, Turkish publisher Aziz Nesin, who had printed extracts in a newspaper, was attacked by Islamist rioters in the central city of Sivas. They cornered him in a hotel and set it on fire, killing 37 people, but Nesin escaped.

And in October 1993, Norwegian translator William Nygaard was shot three times and seriously wounded.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.