Iran's ambassador to Oman denied reports that a senior Iranian diplomat pocketed a gold pen belonging to the Omani hosts during the talks in Muscat.
Reports circulating online had alleged that Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi took a gold-plated pen from the negotiation venue.
Iranian Ambassador Mousa Farhang dismissed the allegations as lies, saying in an interview with Tasnim news agency that there were neither tables nor gold-plated pens in the arrangement of the meeting rooms.
The controversy began with rumors spreading on Telegram that Gharibabadi had mistakenly put a gold pen, provided by the host nation according to protocol, in his pocket.
This led to a fabricated report attributed to the Times of Oman newspaper, saying that Ambassador Farhang had sent a letter to the Omani Foreign Ministry demanding an apology for local media's "marginalization" of an unintentional error by an Iranian negotiator.
Ambassador Farhang told Tasnim that the "lie published by a Telegram channel affiliated with the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK) terrorist group regarding Gharibabadi is the height of foolishness."
Reports had suggested the gold-plated pen was worth around $14,000, that Gharibabadi was recorded on CCTV, and that he returned it via the Iranian embassy in Oman.
