Iran rejects claims that its envoy had a meeting with Musk
Earlier this week, the New York Times revealed that the US-based billionaire engaged in confidential discussions with Amir Saeid Iravani. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported that US-based billionaire Elon Musk had engaged in secret discussions with Amir Saeid Iravani.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected media assertions that Iran’s ambassador to the UN held a clandestine meeting with Musk earlier this week. During his initial term, President-elect Donald Trump adopted a ‘maximum pressure’ strategy towards Tehran, implementing several antagonistic measures against the Islamic Republic.
Musk has positioned himself as politically neutral leading up to the 2024 US presidential election, but he expressed his support for Trump this July and has become one of the prominent Republican benefactors. Since the election on November 5, the tech entrepreneur has frequently been seen alongside the president-elect, including during calls with foreign leaders at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
In comments to Iran’s state-operated IRNA news service on Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei firmly rejected the “false reports” from US media regarding a meeting between Ambassador Iravani and Musk. The diplomat reportedly “expressed surprise” at how readily the story was picked up by the media.
On Thursday, the New York Times, citing two unnamed Iranian officials, indicated that Iravani and Musk had secret discussions on Monday in New York. The report suggested that the meeting aimed to “defuse tensions” between the US and Iran, and the anonymous sources described it as “positive.”
Neither Musk nor the Iranian mission to the UN has made any statements on the issue. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told the NYT that the president-elect would not address “reports of private meetings that did or did not occur.”
As Trump prepares to succeed President Joe Biden, he has selected several hardliners on Iran for key government roles, including Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Congressman Mike Waltz for national security adviser.
During his first term, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and imposed numerous sanctions on Tehran. In January 2020, he authorized a drone strike in Iraq that killed Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top military commander, whom the US accused of orchestrating assaults on American military forces in the Middle East. The Islamic Republic has refuted these allegations, labeling the assassination an “act of terrorism.”
In September, the Trump campaign claimed that US intelligence officials had alerted them to “specific threats from Iran to assassinate” the Republican presidential nominee. Iran has dismissed these claims as a “third-rate comedy.”
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
The Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected media assertions that Iran’s ambassador to the UN held a clandestine meeting with Musk earlier this week. During his initial term, President-elect Donald Trump adopted a ‘maximum pressure’ strategy towards Tehran, implementing several antagonistic measures against the Islamic Republic.
Musk has positioned himself as politically neutral leading up to the 2024 US presidential election, but he expressed his support for Trump this July and has become one of the prominent Republican benefactors. Since the election on November 5, the tech entrepreneur has frequently been seen alongside the president-elect, including during calls with foreign leaders at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
In comments to Iran’s state-operated IRNA news service on Saturday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei firmly rejected the “false reports” from US media regarding a meeting between Ambassador Iravani and Musk. The diplomat reportedly “expressed surprise” at how readily the story was picked up by the media.
On Thursday, the New York Times, citing two unnamed Iranian officials, indicated that Iravani and Musk had secret discussions on Monday in New York. The report suggested that the meeting aimed to “defuse tensions” between the US and Iran, and the anonymous sources described it as “positive.”
Neither Musk nor the Iranian mission to the UN has made any statements on the issue. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told the NYT that the president-elect would not address “reports of private meetings that did or did not occur.”
As Trump prepares to succeed President Joe Biden, he has selected several hardliners on Iran for key government roles, including Senator Marco Rubio for secretary of state and Congressman Mike Waltz for national security adviser.
During his first term, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and imposed numerous sanctions on Tehran. In January 2020, he authorized a drone strike in Iraq that killed Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s top military commander, whom the US accused of orchestrating assaults on American military forces in the Middle East. The Islamic Republic has refuted these allegations, labeling the assassination an “act of terrorism.”
In September, the Trump campaign claimed that US intelligence officials had alerted them to “specific threats from Iran to assassinate” the Republican presidential nominee. Iran has dismissed these claims as a “third-rate comedy.”
Navid Kalantari contributed to this report for TROIB News
