Elon Musk, a close ally of the newly elected US President Donald Trump and the world's top billionaire, met secretly with the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations. They met earlier this week. The American media New York Times reported this information citing two sources in Iran.
According to a source, Elon Musk's meeting with Iran's ambassador Amir Said Iravani in New York was held last Monday. The two Iranian officials see this meeting as an 'attempt to ease US-Iran tensions'. They termed the meeting as 'positive' and 'good news'.
Elon Musk, the owner of SpaceX, Tesla and X, did not comment on the matter. Trump spokesman Steven Chuang said the president-elect would not comment on reports of private meetings. The Washington Post reported that Iran's mission to the United Nations also declined to comment on the matter.
The South African-born businessman is one of Trump's close aides. Recently, Trump announced that a new department will be created to improve government efficiency and will be headed by Musk.
Trump's aggressive stance against Iran
Trump has already made several tough decisions in favor of a tough stance on Iran. Marco Rubio has been nominated as Secretary of State and Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser under his 'Peace Through Strength' policy.
During his first term, Trump canceled the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. At the same time, he adopted the policy of applying maximum economic pressure on Iran. In January 2020, Trump ordered the assassination of Iran's top military commander, Qasem Soleimani. The US claimed Soleimani was involved in planning attacks on US personnel in the Middle East. However, Iran denied the allegations and called the incident a 'terrorist act'.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Massoud Pezeshkian recently said that talks are possible if the United States does not show hostility. But the Gaza war and Washington's support for Israel could complicate these negotiations. Trump adopted pro-Israel policies during his first term. He took initiatives to move the US embassy to Jerusalem and to normalize relations between Israel and the Arab states.
