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Iran‘s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday strongly denied a reported meeting between Tehran’s United Nations envoy and Elon Musk, the US billionaire and close adviser to President-elect Donald Trump.
US media, including The latest York Times, reported this week that Musk and Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani met for an hour-long conversation in latest York on Monday.
“This was a fabricated story by American media, and the motives behind this can also be speculated,” Araqchi said in an interview with state television, echoing an earlier denial by Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
Leadership did not offer permission for meeting, minister says
The Iranian minister said the “media fabrication” about a meeting was a form of testing the waters to view if the ground for such a shift existed.
“We are still waiting for the latest US administration to clarify its policies, and based on that, we will adjust our own policies. Right now, it is neither the time for such meetings nor is it appropriate,” Araqchi said.
He added that there was no permission from the leadership for such a meeting, a reference to Supreme head Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
‘Limited possibility for diplomacy’
In an interview, Araqchi also warned that Iran was ready for “confrontation or cooperation” in its dispute with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, and Western countries within the agency over its nuclear program.
“There is still an possibility for diplomacy, although this possibility is not much, it is a limited possibility,” the minister said.
He stressed the 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump withdrew from in 2018 during his first term, no longer holds the same value for Iran.
“If negotiations begin, the nuclear pact may serve as a reference, but it no longer has its previous significance. We must reach a feasible agreement,” Araqchi said.
His comments come after the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, visited the Islamic Republic and met with senior officials.
US pressure on Iran
Trump imposed a rule known as “maximum pressure” on Iran during his first term, from 2017 to 2021.
This included tearing up an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program that had been reached under his predecessor, Barack Obama, in 2015.
Trump reimposed heavy sanctions, which the present US administration under Joe Biden has maintained.
The 2015 deal provided for an easing of international sanctions in exchange for guarantees that Iran was not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, something Tehran has consistently denied.
dh/sms (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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