Elon Musk meets Iranian official to ease tensions with US
The meeting between the richest man in the world and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani was “positive,” the New York Times noted.
Elon Musk meets Iranian official to ease tensions with US. Photo: AFP
Billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, met with Iran’s ambassador to the UN in an attempt to calm tensions between Tehran and Washington, the New York Times reported.
Citing two unnamed Iranian sources, the paper said the meeting in New York between the world’s richest man and ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani was “positive”.
The two met for more than an hour on Monday, the newspaper reported.
Neither Trump’s transition team nor Iran’s mission to the United Nations immediately confirmed the meeting.
If confirmed, the meeting could be a sign that Trump is serious about diplomacy with Iran and will not opt for the more aggressive approach advocated by more conservative members of the Republican Party and Israel.
It would also bolster the influence of Musk, the owner of Tesla and X, who has been a constant presence at Trump’s side, reportedly joining him on phone calls with world leaders.
Trump appointed the South African businessman to head a new “government efficiency commission,” along with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
In his first term, Trump withdrew the United States from a deal on Iran’s nuclear program negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and instead pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran.
But in the latest campaign he has shown himself open to diplomacy, despite his declared support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ordered military strikes against Iran in parallel with the war he is waging against Hamas in Gaza.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian, considered a moderate within the Islamic Republic, said on Thursday that he wanted to dispel “doubts and ambiguities” about his country’s “peaceful” nuclear program, as he received the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).