Salman Rushdie yesterday revelled in being virtually free of the death threat which has hung over him for nearly a decade - but defended The Satanic Verses, the book which brought down the wrath of Islam upon his head.

In his first substantive comments since Iran decisively distanced itself from Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa and the accompanying #2m bounty, Mr Rushdie paid tribute to those who died in the political furore sparked by his novel.

He acknowledged he still faces a degree of threat, but said he had no regrets about the book - regarded by many Muslims as blasphemous - and would not be apologising.

''I could ask for apologies - I have had 10 years of my life deformed by this,'' the 51-year-old author said.

Nor would he appease Islamic sensibilities by withdrawing his most controversial work.

''There's not a chance in hell of the book being withdrawn. We have not fought this battle for freedom of speech to give in at the last moment.''

Nevertheless, he struck a conciliatory note, observing: ''We just need to turn the page, we don't have to go on and on and on scratching at this scab. What I'm saying is 'end of a story, time for the next story'.''

Mr Rushdie, speaking in London, voiced delight at the prospect of a more normal lifestyle, but acknowledged he was still in a degree of danger, though it was much reduced.

The late Ayatollah Khomeini issued the fatwa in 1989 and it cannot be withdrawn formally.

But the Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told Foreign Secretary Robin Cook in New York on Thursday that his government had ''no intention'' of harming Mr Rushdie and that his government did not support the bounty put up by an Iranian charitable foundation.

''I feel there is a small, continued need for caution, but of the sort faced by many people who, for whatever reason, become prominent. In the modern world there are cranks who come out of the woodwork and attack such figures,'' said Mr Rushdie.

He said that during the past 10 years a large number of Iranians had been expelled from Britain. In many cases he understood the reason was that they were suspected of plotting to carry out the fatwa.

The continuing hostility of many Muslims towards Mr Rushdie was evident, however, from Anjem Choudary, secretary general of the Society of Muslim Lawyers. ''Anyone who insults Islam is subject to the death penalty. Of course, Rushdie is still in danger,'' he said.

Among the tributes he paid, Mr Rushdie singled out Professor Hitoshi Igarashi, the Japanese translator of The Satanic Verses stabbed to death by an Islamic fanatic in 1991. He also thanked Dr Ettore Capriolo, the Italian translator who was beaten and stabbed repeatedly, but recovered; and Norwegian publisher William Nygaard, who was shot three times and seriously injured in 1993, but survived.

He was careful to remember, too, Muslims who died in demonstrations against the book, particularly on the subcontinent.

All the deaths had been a ''shocking and terrible waste''. ''I regret that,'' said Mr Rushdie.