Praise, worry in Iran after Rushdie attack; government quiet

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

51% : TEHRAN, Iran (AP) --
48% : Associated Press journalist Mehdi Fattahi in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
45% : Reformists in Iran, those who want to slowly liberalize the country's Shiite theocracy from inside and have better relations with the West, have sought to distance the country's government from the edict.
45% : But some in Iran have never forgotten the fatwa against him.
44% : But it, like other foundations known as "bonyads" in Iran funded in part by confiscated assets from the shah's time, often serve the political interests of the country's hard-liners.
43% : ADDS NAME OF DETAINED PERSON Law enforcement officers detain Hadi Matar, 24, of Fairview, N.J., outside the Chautauqua Institution, Friday, Aug. 12, 2022, in Chautauqua, N.Y.. Salman Rushdie, the author whose writing led to death threats from Iran in the 1980s, was attacked and apparently stabbed in the neck Friday by Matar who rushed the stage as he was about to give a lecture at the institute in western New York.
42% : Since then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018, Tehran has seen its rial currency plummet and its economy crater.
41% : But in Tehran, some willing to speak to The Associated Press offered praise for an attack targeting a writer they believe tarnished the Islamic faith with his 1988 book "The Satanic Verses."
39% : Meanwhile, Tehran enriches uranium now closer than ever to weapons-grade levels amid a series of attacks across the Mideast.
35% : "I feel those who did it are trying to isolate Iran," said Mahshid Barati, a 39-year-old geography teacher.
32% : Others, however, worried the attack -- regardless of why it was carried out -- could hurt Iran as it tries to negotiate over its nuclear deal with world powers.
32% : "It will make Iran more isolated," warned former Iranian diplomat Mashallah Sefatzadeh.
30% :Others, however, worried aloud that Iran could become even more cut off from the world as tensions remain high over its tattered nuclear deal.

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