Feb 14: After the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (then Supreme Ruler of Iran) issues a fatwa (death warrant and ban) against Rushdie and his book, Satanic Verses; Rushdie becomes a “hunted man.” Khomeini simultaneously super–propelled Rushdie onto the global stage.
(Indian) Salman Rushdie was then living in England; three weeks later, March 7, 1989, the British would subsequently break relations (for 9+ years) with Iran over the fatwa.