Elon Musk Confirms His 'Small Role' in the Release of Italian Journalist

Elon Musk, senior advisor to Donald Trump, stated that he played a 'role' in the release of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist, from detention in Iran, recommending that the United States 'support' this issue. However, the Italian Foreign Ministry denied Mr. Musk's claim on Friday, January 28. Previously, Ismail Baqai, spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, denied reports of Elon Musk's contact with Amir Saeed Iravani, Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in New York, regarding the journalist's release, calling it 'media storytelling and fantasy.' Cecilia Sala was released after nine days of detention in Tehran on January 19 and returned to her country. Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X, responded to a user on this platform that he had a 'small role' in Ms. Sala's release, but in another message, without providing further details, stated that he 'had no connection with Iran, only recommended support from the U.S.' Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Mr. Musk had contacted Amir Saeed Iravani in New York about this matter, a contact that the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied. On Friday, Antonio Tajani, the Italian Foreign Minister, also told Sky News that Elon Musk 'had no connection to the Cecilia Sala case, played no role, and this case was resolved through the efforts of the Italian government.' This is the second time news of a meeting and contact between Elon Musk, as a senior advisor to the elected U.S. president, and Amir Saeed Iravani in New York has been published, and both times the Iranian Foreign Ministry has denied it. Previously, the New York Times reported on November 15 that the two met and quoted some Iranian officials as saying that the discussion centered on 'how to reduce tensions' between Iran and the U.S. However, Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister, denied this two days after the news was published, calling it 'American news fabrication.' Meanwhile, Farnaz Fasihi, a New York Times journalist, told Radio Farda that the newspaper had consulted with Mr. Iravani's office before publishing news of the meetings and contacts, and both times this office refrained from denying the news. According to Ms. Fasihi, in the first case, the office of Iran's permanent representative to the UN stated that 'they do not speak publicly about this matter.' In the recent contact of Elon Musk with Mr. Iravani, this office informed the New York Times that they 'do not comment on this matter.' The Iranian Foreign Minister denied the meeting between Elon Musk and Amir Saeed Iravani. The Italian newspaper Il Giornale reported on January 7 that Giorgia Meloni, the Prime Minister of Italy, during a brief visit to the U.S., managed to gain Donald Trump's consent to postpone the extradition of Abedini to the U.S. While the Iranian Foreign Ministry claimed that Ms. Sala's detention in Tehran had 'no connection' to Mr. Abedini's detention in Italy, after Ms. Meloni's visit to the U.S., Iran released the Italian journalist, and now Italy has also released Mr. Abedini. Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, an Iranian-Swiss businessman accused of circumventing U.S. sanctions against Iran, was arrested at Milan airport at the request of U.S. authorities.