Iran increases bounty on Salman Rushdie to $3,300,000

Iran has increased the bounty associated with the long-standing fatwa issued against writer Salman Rushdie. The price now offered on the writer's head has increased by $500,000 to $3,300,000.

Iranian Press TV reported Ayatollah Sheikh Hassan Sane’ei, Caretaker of the15th of Khordad Foundation, announced the bounty on the head of Salman Rushdie had been increased, on Saturday. The timing coincided with Islamic outrage against further insults against Prophet Mohammed. The News reported Sane'ei issued a statement saying unless Rushdie is killed "The movie offending the Prophet will not be the last contemptuous attempt" adding "these days are the most appropriate time to carry it (Rushdie's murder) out." Rushdie has been the subject of a fatwa calling for his death since 1989, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for his murder for blaspheming against Islam and the Prophet Mohammed. According to the BBC the British Foreign Office has said the Iranian government does not back any bounty offer. Over the course of the years since the fatwa was issued the15th of Khordad Foundation, a non-governmental organization, has increased the bounty on offer several times.