Elon Musk lately met with Iran’s ambassador to the U.N., Amir Saeid Iravani, in keeping with two sources accustomed to the assembly.
The assembly came about on the ambassador’s residence in New York. There isn’t any indication that President-elect Donald Trump’s nationwide safety transition crew was conscious of the assembly. Neither is it clear that his newly assembled crew of advisers, together with Iran hawks Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz, Trump’s picks for secretary of state and nationwide safety adviser, respectively, knew of the assembly. Additionally it is not clear if Trump himself was conscious of the assembly.
The New York Instances, which was first to report on the assembly, mentioned two Iranian officers described it as a dialogue on tips on how to defuse tensions between the 2 international locations.
The U.S. doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Tehran, which implies the Biden administration’s contact with Iran is oblique and usually performed through third events. American firms are largely forbidden from doing enterprise in Iran attributable to in depth sanctions. The U.S. considers Iran to be the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism.
Musk’s assembly comes because the Iranians search a channel into Trump’s orbit. They know Trump is eager on dealmaking and that he has praised Iran’s negotiating prowess.
Most of the latest appointees to Trump’s nationwide safety crew are Iran hawks, so in search of a gathering with Musk was a method for Tehran to bypass them.
Musk, the richest man on the earth, additionally spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lately. Trump put him on the cellphone with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when the Ukrainian chief known as to congratulate the president-elect on his victory final week, in keeping with the Related Press. The Wall Avenue Journal additionally reported that Musk has been in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin recurrently since late 2022.
