TEHRAN, IRAN — Iranian media were divided Saturday over a reported meeting between Tehran’s ambassador to the United Nations and tech billionaire Elon Musk — unconfirmed by Iranian authorities — with some describing it as “positive” while others called it “treason.”
The New York Times reported Friday that Musk, who is a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, met earlier this week with Iranian Ambassador to the U.N. Amir Saeid Iravani.
The Times cited anonymous Iranian sources describing the encounter as “positive,” although neither the Trump transition team nor Iran’s U.N. mission immediately confirmed the meeting.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Saturday “categorically” denied the Times report on the Musk meeting, state media reported.
In an interview with state news agency IRNA, spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was reported as “categorically denying such a meeting” and expressing “surprise at the coverage of the American media in this regard.”
However, Iranian media outlets, particularly those aligned with the reformist party that supports President Masoud Pezeshkian, largely described the meeting in positive terms.
The Ham Mihan reformist daily noted that “the strategy of the Iranian diplomatic team is on target and has elicited a reciprocal and positive response from the American side.”
Sazandegi, another reformist outlet, interpreted the meeting as an indication of Iran engaging in “secret diplomacy” with the United States.
While it portrayed the meeting as a “positive” development, it nevertheless stressed that it should not be exaggerated.
Musk has been tapped as the co-chair of Trump’s proposed Department of Government Efficiency.
The Shargh newspaper from the same political camp suggested that the encounter reflects “the result of Donald Trump’s active diplomacy.”
In contrast, the ultraconservative Kayhan daily criticized 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.
The deal gave Iran relief from economic sanctions in exchange for controls on its nuclear program, which Iran has consistently maintained is for peaceful purposes.
The conservative Jomhouri-e Eslami newspaper stated that the interaction “can be viewed as the beginning of a new path in Iran’s foreign policy,” although it did not name Musk, instead describing him as Trump’s representative.
In the weeks leading up to Trump’s reelection, Iranian officials signaled a willingness to resolve issues with the West.
Iran and the United States cut diplomatic ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the U.S.-backed shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
Since then, both countries have communicated through the Swiss embassy in Tehran and the Sultanate of Oman.
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