US sanctions Iran-based foundation over Rushdie bounty

NEW YORK: The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on the Iran-based foundation that issued a multi-million-dollar bounty on the life of acclaimed “Satanic Verses” author Salman Rushdie, who was brutally attacked in August.

The sanctions are aimed at the “15 Khordad Foundation,” which the US Treasury Department says is affiliated with deceased Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who originally issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie´s death in 1989.

A statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is designating the group “for providing financial support for an act of terrorism.” The foundation “maintains a multi-million dollar bounty on Rushdie,” the Treasury Department said, adding that as recently as 2012 the organization increased the bounty to $3.3 million.