Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson on Saturday “categorically” denied a meeting between Tehran’s UN ambassador and Elon Musk, as reported by the The New York Times.
State news agency IRNA quoted spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei as “categorically denying such a meeting” while expressing “surprise at the coverage of the American media in this regard”.
Earlie, The Times published a report on Friday stating that Musk, a close associate of President-elect Donald Trump, had met with Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani, earlier in the week. The report referenced unnamed Iranian sources who characterised the interaction as “positive”.
Prior to Baghaei’s denial, Iranian newspapers, particularly those supporting President Masoud Pezeshkian’s reformist party, had portrayed the alleged meeting favourably.
Iranian officials have recently indicated openness to addressing Western concerns in the period before Trump’s re-election.
Diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States were severed following the 1979 Islamic revolution, which overthrew Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, the US-supported shah of Iran.
Since this diplomatic break, communications between the two nations have been facilitated through the Swiss embassy in Tehran and Oman’s government.
