Vice News is reporting that European and Middle Eastern Intel shows that the man who attempted to murder Salman Rushdie on Friday had been in contact with members of Iran's Revolutionary Islamic Guard on social media before the attack.
The 24-year-old man accused of stabbing author Salman Rushdie had been in direct contact with members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on social media, European and Middle Eastern intelligence officials told VICE World News.
Hadi Matar has been charged with attempted murder after Rushdie, 75, was repeatedly stabbed on stage ahead of a speaking event in Chautauqua, New York, on Friday.
Although Rushdie's attacker was in contact with Iran and members of the Revolutionary Guard, it's not clear whether or not he was carrying out a designed hit.
A NATO counter-terrorism official from a European country said the stabbing had all the hallmarks of a "guided" attack, where an intelligence service talks a supporter into action, without direct support or involvement in the attack itself.
"Close scrutiny needs to be paid to his communications," said the NATO official, who was not authorised to speak on the record. "More investigation will reveal more information on the exact nature of the links."
Plausible deniability from the State of Iran
They did not order the attack, but it appears they quietly encouraged it.
Of course, the Islamic nation still has an active Fatwa on Rushdie's head, so it's hard to believe they didn't green-light the action.
There's no evidence Iranian officials were involved in organising or orchestrating the attack upon Rushdie. Security officials who confirmed the social media contact would not elaborate on the nature of the communications because investigations are ongoing. They would not disclose who initiated the contact, when it took place, or what was discussed.
A Middle Eastern intelligence official said it was "clear" that at some point prior to the attack, Matar had been in contact with "people either directly involved with or adjacent to the Quds Force," referring to the Revolutionary Guard's external operations force.
"It's unclear the extent of the involvement, if this was a directly supported assassination attempt or if it was a series of suggestions and directions in picking a target," said the official, who could not speak on the record for diplomatic reasons.
This story is getting deeper and deeper.
We will keep you updated as more information about the attacker comes to light.
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