Iran ‘categorically denies’ envoy meeting with Trump ally Elon Musk

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman on Saturday “categorically” denied The New York Times’ report on Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations meeting with US tech billionaire Elon Musk, state media reported.

In an interview with state news agency IRNA, spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei was reported as “categorically denying such a meeting” and expressing “surprise at the coverage of the American media in this regard”.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Musk, who is close to US President-elect Donald Trump and will head up the Republican’s newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani.

The newspaper said the meeting was an attempt to defuse tensions between Tehran and Washington.

It also quoted two unnamed Iranian sources as saying that the meeting between the world’s richest man and Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani was “positive”. The newspaper said that the meeting took place in a secret location on Monday and lasted more than an hour.

Iranian newspapers, particularly those aligned with the reformist party that supports President Masoud Pezeshkian, largely described the meeting in positive terms before Baghaei’s statement.

However, before the official denial of the meeting, newspapers aligned with Iran’s conservative political parties were less than enamoured with the alleged meeting.

The ultraconservative Kayhan daily criticised the reported meeting as “naivety or treason” against Iran, slamming Trump for exiting the Iran nuclear deal.

The paper said Trump “must pay damages to Iran for violating the nuclear agreement”, which was signed in 2015 between Iran and Western powers.

In his last term, Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran struck with his Democrat predecessor, Barack Obama, and instead sought to pursue a policy of “maximum pressure” on Tehran.

This included forcing countries not to buy Iranian oil, in attempt to isolate and foment social unrest in the country.

Shortly after Trump was elected president, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on the X platform that by electing him, the American people “have made their decision, and Iran respects their right to choose the president they want”, calling for a new path with Iran that begins with respect.

Araghchi stressed that “Iran does not seek nuclear weapons at all, and this policy is based on Islamic teachings and our security calculations,” adding that “there is a need to build trust in a mutual way, not one-way.”

Trump has filled his new cabinet with many foreign policy figures who are hawkish on Iran and supportive of Israel’s far-right coalition government, leading to fears that his administration could pursue an aggressive or even war-like policy towards Tehran.

Agencies contributed to this report