India on Saturday denied that tech billionaire Elon Musk was part of the telephone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on March 24.

Trump had called Modi to discuss the war with Iran on Tuesday, the first interaction between the two leaders since Israel and the US began military strikes on Iran on February 28.

“Elon Musk participated in a phone call on Tuesday with President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, an unusual appearance by a private citizen on a call between two heads of state during a wartime crisis,” The New York Times had reported on Friday, quoting unnamed US officials.

“We have seen the story,” news agency ANI quoted the ministry of external affairs spokesperson as saying on Saturday afternoon.

“The telephone conversation on March 24 was between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump only. As has been stated earlier, it provided the opportunity for exchange of views on the situation in West Asia,” the spokesperson added.

The NYT report said the inclusion of Musk, confirmed by two US officials, suggested that the world's richest man was back on better terms with the US President.

Trump and Musk had a falling out last year following the billionaire's departure from the government, where he had been tasked with slashing the work force.

The NYT report said it is unclear why Musk was on the call or whether he spoke.