Elon Musk met Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations the day before he was appointed as Donald Trump’s new cost-cutting chief, CBS, the BBC’s US partner, confirmed.
The meeting took place at ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani’s residence in New York, with the aim of discussing ways to ease tensions between the two countries, according to the New York Times, which first reported the story.
It’s unclear whether President-elect Trump or his national security team knew about the meeting.
Several recent appointees to Trump’s national security team, including Mike Waltz and Marco Rubio, are known to be hawkish on Iran, believing the US should take a tough stance against Iran. back to Iran.
According to the New York Times, the US does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran, but the private meeting with Musk provided a solution, allowing Iran to avoid meeting with a US official.
The newspaper also said Musk asked to meet with the ambassador, which Iranian officials described as “positive” and “good news.”
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said “We do not comment on reports of private meetings that did or did not occur.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations and the White House declined requests for comment from CBS News.
During his first term as president, Trump withdrew the United States from the Iran nuclear deal, brokered in 2015 under president Barack Obama, and reinstated harsh economic sanctions, which largely Ban American companies from doing business in Iran.
Trump also ordered an airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani in 2020.
The president-elect is also a strong supporter of Israel, which has been at war with the Iran-backed groups Hamas and Hezbollah since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
Musk has newly appointed Donald Trump’s new cost-cutting chief, which will advise on government cost-cutting but will not be an official government agency.
The tech billionaire and Tesla boss also joined Trump on the call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and played a key role in providing communications to the Ukrainian military through the company’s Starlink satellite internet system. grandfather.
