Hah. I just answered my question. Looks like I missed a key phrase in the tgp article:
The leaked audio was obtained by The New York Times and other outlets and the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh effectively confirmed the leaked tape’s authenticity.
Note "other outlets".
So NYT is trying to reframe the narrative to minimize the damage.
Hah. I just answered my question. Looks like I missed a key phrase in the tgp article:
Note "other outlets".
So NYT is trying to reframe the narrative to minimize the damage.