After nine years, Iran lifts fatwa on Rushdie

SALMAN RUSHDIE'S years of living under round-the-clock police protection, in fear for his life, were today nearing an end after Iran's leader formally declared the fatwa on the author was now "completely finished".

Tehran improve relations with the West and cast off its pariah status.

However, although welcomed by the Foreign Office, the declaration falls short of establishing any concrete policy and it is believed Khatami does not actually have the power to lift the death sentence completely.

Iran has long claimed that the fatwa is an immutable religious edict, so clarification over what today's announcement actually means will now be sought by Foreign Secretary Robin Cook when he meets his Iranian counterpart Kamal Kharrazi at the United Nations in New York tomorrow.

And Rushdie, 51, who lives under police protection at a safe house, has so far remained cautiously silent at the news.

He has been forced to live in hiding under constant guard for nine years after the fatwa was imposed by Iran's then leader Ayatollah Khome-ini in February 1989.

The sentence came after the Ayatollah branded Rushdie's book The Satanic Verses blasphemous against Islam because it was deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammed and the central tenets of the religion.

A GBP 1.2 million bounty was put on the award-winning author's head by network: President Mohammad Khatami said that as far as Iran was concerned the issue was now at an end, a move seen by political analysts as a bid to help Islamic militants and five people were killed during early protests in Pakistan.

The bounty still stands but it is believed Mr Cook will discuss with Mr Kharrazi how this might now be lifted.

The death sentence has sparked furious debate over the balance between free speech and religious tolerance, but for nearly a decade Britain and Iran have been unable to reach an agreement on the matter.

However, President Khatami is viewed in the West as a reformer although it is thought that his announcement that the fatwa is now over will cause conflict within Iran.

An analyst in Tehran said: "It would be political suicide for anybody to attempt to reverse the fatwa."

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said today: "We have heard these reports and they do appear to be encouraging. Robin Cook will be using his meeting tomorrow to seek clarification and we need now to press the Iranians.

"We are in regular contact with Mr Rushdie and the people who represent him."

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