Khomeini's grandson calls Trump's Iran speech vulgar, demeaning

In February, a jury found Hadi Matar guilty of second-degree attempted murder for the August 12, 2022, attack at the Chautauqua Institution in southwestern New York.

Rushdie was stabbed multiple times in the face and neck during a speaking event, leaving him blind in one eye.

In a separate charge, Matar was sentenced to seven years for second-degree assault for stabbing Henry Reese, co-founder of Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum, who was hosting the event. Both sentences will run concurrently.

He also faces federal charges accusing him of attempting to murder Rushdie as an act of terrorism and of providing material support to Hezbollah. A separate trial on those charges is pending in Buffalo.

Rushdie, 77, has lived under threat since 1989, when Iran’s then-supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his death over The Satanic Verses, a novel deemed blasphemous by the Islamic Republic.

Speaking about the trauma suffered by Rushdie, Chautauqua County District Attorney Jason Schmidt said: "He's traumatized. He has nightmares about what he experienced."

"Obviously this is a major setback for an individual that was starting to emerge in his very later years of life into society after going into hiding after the fatwa."

Matar's attorney, Nathaniel Barone, said his client plans to appeal the verdict.

Iran has not received any written proposal from the United States, either directly or indirectly, and will not abandon its right to enrich uranium under any scenario, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday in a statement on X.

“The messaging we—and the world—continue to receive is confusing and contradictory,” Araghchi wrote. “Iran nonetheless remains determined and straightforward: Respect our rights and terminate your sanctions, and we have a deal.”

“Mark my words: there is no scenario in which Iran abandons its hard-earned right to enrichment for peaceful purposes,” he added.

“Iran stands behind them, providing support, guidance and approval,” Netanyahu said.

“The Houthis will pay a very heavy price, and we will defend ourselves through all necessary means to protect Israel's security.”

Earlier on Friday, Israeli airstrikes targeted the Houthi-controlled ports of Hodeidah and Salif in Yemen. The Israeli military reported that 15 fighter jets dropped over 30 munitions on these ports, which it said were to be used for transferring weapons.

Netanyahu confirmed the strikes saying, “Our pilots have now successfully struck two Houthi terrorist ports again, and this is just the continuation, with more to come.”

“We are not willing to sit aside and let the Houthis harm us. We will strike them much harder, including their leadership and all infrastructure that enables them to attack us.”

The Houthis have continued firing missiles at Israel in support of Palestinians in Gaza, though they have stopped targeting US ships.

In response, Israel has launched retaliatory strikes, including a May 6 attack on Sanaa airport in Yemen that killed several people.

Former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has called on Washington to support a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran does not agree to dismantle its program.

“Iran needs to feel maximum pressure to totally dismantle its nuclear program,” Haley wrote on X.

“That includes: Unprecedented sanctions, including on China for buying Iranian oil, which is keeping Iran’s economy afloat. Rallying our regional allies and partners to present a united front against Iranian aggression. Third and most important, making it clear that the US will support a military strike against Iran’s nuclear program if Iran doesn’t agree to end it.”

UK Foreign Office political director Christian Turner said on Friday that political directors from the UK, France, and Germany agreed with Iranian officials to hold further discussions after their meeting in Istanbul.

“We shared our commitment to dialogue, welcomed ongoing US/Iran talks, and given urgency, agreed to meet again,” Turner wrote on X, referring to the E3 group’s meeting with Iranian deputy foreign ministers.