Iranian officials deny reports suggesting meeting with Elon Musk
Tehran (Quds News Network)- Iran has “categorically” denied that its ambassador to the UN has met with tech billionaire Elon Musk.
News agency IRNA reported that spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei expressed “surprise at the coverage of the American media in this regard” after a report in the New York Times.
On Friday, the NYT said that Musk – a close ally of newly elected President Donald Trump – met earlier this week with Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, in a meeting that anonymous sources described as “positive”.
According to the NYT, Iravani asked Musk to obtain a sanctions waiver from the US Treasury Department to bring his businesses to Tehran.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said of the meeting: “We do not comment on reports of private meetings that did or did not occur.”
A day later, Trump appointed Musk head of the yet non-existent Department of Government Efficiency (Doge). The unofficial department, which is advertising careers on X, is designed to slash government bureaucracy.
According to the NYT, the alleged meeting took place at Iravani ‘s residence in New York, with the aim of discussing how to ease tensions between the two nations.
During his first term as president, Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal, brokered in 2015 during Barack Obama’s presidency, and reinstated harsh economic sanctions which largely prohibit US companies from doing business in Iran.
Trump also ordered the air strike which killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020.
