Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday strongly denied a reported meeting between Tehran's United Nations envoy and U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, in an interview with state TV. Araqchi also warned that Iran was "prepared for confrontation or cooperation" in its dispute with the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA and Western countries within the body over its nuclear programme.

Iran is denying reports that its ambassador to the United Nations met with billionaire Elon Musk on Monday. Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei told state media that reports from the New York Times citing Iranian officials were “false,” expressing “surprise” that American media outlets covered the story.