A statement issued by Iran's foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi last week appears to have ended the death sentence the Iranian government placed on Salman Rushdie after publication of his Satanic Verses nine years ago. "The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has no intention, nor is it going to take any action whats ver, to threaten the life of the author of the Satanic Verses or anybody associated with his work, nor will it encourage or assist anybody to do so," the statement read.

The British government said it was convinced that the withdrawal of the death sentence was genuine, and that it planned to raise its representation in Iran from the charge d'affaires level to that of ambassador. Rushdie was relieved to hear the news and told the New York Times, "When you're used to getting hard news -- and by that I mean bad news -- then news like this is almost unbelievable."