Salman Rushdie attacker praises Iran’s ayatollah, surprised author survived: jailhouse interview

The New Jersey man who allegedly attacked Salman Rushdie in western New York last week praised Iran’s ayatollah in an exclusive jailhouse interview with The Post on Wednesday — and admitted he didn’t think the author would survive.

“When I heard he survived, I was surprised, I guess,” Hadi Matar, of Fairview, NJ, said in a video interview from the Chautauqua County Jail.