Musk played no part in release of journalist held in Iran, Italy says

ROME (Reuters) - Elon Musk played no role in negotiations between Italy and Iran for the release of a journalist who was held in a Tehran prison, Italy's foreign minister said on Friday, dismissing a media report that the U.S. billionaire had been involved.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala returned home last week after being detained in Iran last month during a reporting trip. Shortly afterwards, Italy released an Iranian businessman who had been arrested in Milan on a U.S. warrant a few days before Sala was taken to prison.

"Musk ... has nothing to do with Cecilia Sala's case. He played no role. The case was settled by the Italian government," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told broadcaster SkyTG24.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Musk had helped secure Sala's release, at the request of her boyfriend, by reaching out to Iran's ambassador to the United Nations.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who is a friend of Musk's, told reporters on Jan. 9 that she had no information on whether he had been involved in the case.

Musk, who was a leading supporter of President-elect Donald Trump's White House campaign and is poised to take up a role advising him on cutting government spending, said on Thursday he had "played a small role."

"I did not have any interaction with Iran. Just recommended support from the U.S. side," he wrote on his social network X.

Sala was released three days after Meloni made a surprise visit to Florida to see Trump. The trip played a role in the reporter's release, an Italian political source said.

(Reporting by Angelo Amante and Sara Rossi; Editing by Gavin Jones and Frances Kerry)