Hadi Matar, the suspect detained for stabbing famed author Salman Rushdie, had prior contact with a US-designated terrorist organization, the Iranian IRGC (Revolutionary Guards).
According to VICE, a Middle Eastern intelligence official stated that Matar had been in communication with “those either directly associated with or adjacent to the Quds Force” prior to the stabbing.
Quds Force is the extraterritorial operations arm of the Iranian IRGC. The US has also designated the Quds Force as a foreign terrorist organization.
“The degree of the involvement is unknown, whether this was a directly backed assassination attempt or a series of ideas and directives in selecting a target,” the official added.
Due to diplomatic reasons, the official would not comment on the record, according to VICE. VICE cited European and Middle Eastern intelligence authorities as saying Matar, 24, had been in direct contact with members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on social media, before attempting to murder Salman Rushdie.
According to VICE, security officials declined to comment on the nature of Matar’s social media communication with the IRGC.
According to a NATO counter-terrorism official from a European country, the stabbing appeared to be a “directed” attack, in which an intelligence service inspires a terrorist to attack without providing direct material aid.
“A 24-year-old born in the United States did not come up with Salman Rushdie as a target on his own,” the Mideast intelligence officer told VICE, adding that “even an avid consumer of Iranian IRGC propaganda would have some difficulty finding references to Rushdie compared to all the other, modern enemies, designated by the regime.”