Iran 'categorically' denies reports of Musk meeting with UN ambassador
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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei dismissed claims by US media of a meeting between Elon Musk and Iran’s UN ambassador.
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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on October 20, 2024. (MFA.IR)
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei "categorically" denied reports of a meeting between the US president-elect's advisor, Elon Musk, and Iran's ambassador to the UN, as cited by IRNA.
In a statement to the Iranian news outlet, on Saturday, Baghaei rejected the claims made by US media that Musk had met with Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani in New York, labeling them as "false reports."
He also expressed surprise at the widespread coverage of the "alleged meeting" by American media outlets.
Earlier, Western media had covered a story that Elon Musk had reportedly met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, just a day before Donald Trump named Musk as one of the heads of the newly established Department of Government Efficiency.
Allegedly, the meeting focused on discussing ways to ease tensions between Iran and the United States, according to a report by the New York Times. The report even claimed that Musk had requested the meeting and that the ambassador chose the location.
US-Iran relations from JCPOA to assassinating IRGC chief Soleimani
Trump’s relationship with Iran has been tumultuous. As president, he decided to unilaterally pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal, which was signed in 2015 during Barack Obama’s presidency, and imposed severe economic sanctions on Iran.
During his term, Trump also ordered the assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, in January 2020.
Toossi remarked, “Whether America can have successful negotiations with Iran under Trump really will have to do with Musk or whoever is going to lead these negotiations, and a team that is dedicated to a negotiating process, that is willing to do the hard work that actual diplomatic process and international relations entails.”
Iran-US communication channels remain open: Araghchi
However, it is worth noting that Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that despite the deep-seated differences between Iran and the United States, communication channels between the two countries remain open.
Araghchi highlighted that these fundamental disagreements are unlikely to be resolved shortly but emphasized the importance of managing the tensions to minimize costs and avoid escalation.
"We need to manage them to reduce the costs and tensions," he asserted.
Read more: Iran, US encounter in regional, int'l sphere inevitable: Pezeshkian
