IRAN – Iran’s foreign ministry denied that a meeting was held between the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations and Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person and close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, Iranian state media reported Saturday. The New York Times reported the meeting took place earlier this week, citing two Iranian officials.

But Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei “categorically denied” that a meeting took place and was “surprised” by the coverage in US media, state-run IRNA said. The Times reported that a meeting between Musk and Iran’s envoy Amir Saeid Iravani was held at a secret location in New York on Monday and lasted more than an hour, citing the Iranian officials, who reportedly described the discussion as focused on how to defuse tensions between the two countries.

CNN has reached out to Musk, Trump’s transition team and the Iranian mission at the UN for confirmation of the meeting. Reports of the alleged meeting raised questions about what Musk’s influence might look like in the incoming administration, especially when it comes to US foreign policy. Just last week, the day after the presidential election, Musk joined Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to two sources. Trump put the call on speaker and Zelensky thanked Musk for his help with providing communications through Starlink to Ukraine in the ongoing war with Russia, a source added.

Trump announced Tuesday that Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency” in his second administration. Musk, who is the CEO of Space X and Tesla, has benefitted from billions of dollars worth of federal contracts, including from NASA, the military and other US government agencies, and the announcement raised immediate concerns about potential conflicts of interest. It is not immediately clear how the department – which Trump said would “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government” – would operate, and whether the US Congress – even fully controlled by Republicans – would have the appetite to approve such a massive overhaul of government spending and operations. (CNN) …[+]