By Deutsche Welle
Nov 14, 2024, 7:34 PM EST
Billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, met with the Iranian ambassador to the UN to try to calm tensions between Tehran and Washington, The New York Times reported this Thursday.
Citing two anonymous Iranian sources, the newspaper claims that the meeting in New York between the world’s richest man and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani was “positive.”
The two met Monday for more than an hour, according to the newspaper.
Neither Trump’s transition team nor Iran’s mission to the United Nations immediately confirmed the meeting.
If confirmed, The meeting may be a sign that Trump is serious about diplomacy with Iran and will not opt for a more aggressive approach advocated by more conservative members of the Republican Party and Israel.
Agreement on the nuclear program
It would also reinforce the influence of Musk, owner of Tesla and X, who has been a constant presence at Trump’s side, and has reportedly accompanied 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 the Iranian nuclear program negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and instead pushed a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran.
But in the last campaign he showed himself open to diplomacy, despite his declared support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has ordered military strikes against Iran in parallel to the war he is waging against Hamas in Gaza.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian, considered a moderate within the Islamic Republic, said this Thursday that he wants to clear up “doubts and ambiguities” about his country’s “peaceful” nuclear program, when receiving the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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