According to ‘The New York Times’, Elon Musk met Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations. USA Elections

Businessman Elon Musk, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, met in New York last Monday with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations with the aim of “reducing tensions” between the two countries, according to the newspaper. the new York TimesThe world’s richest man, who will team up with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswami to lead a newly created department to reform government management, met for more than an hour with Ambassador Amir Saeed Iravani at a secret location. Key, as later reported by sources from the Iranian mission to the United Nations, speaking on condition of anonymity, who described the meeting as “positive” and “good news.” One of the officials noted that it was Musk who requested the meeting and the ambassador chose the location.

The meeting has not been confirmed by the team of the newly elected President. Asked whether there was such a session, Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said: “We do not comment on reports of private meetings that may or may not have occurred.” Musk did not respond to the newspaper’s request for information, nor has he made any statements on his social network, X (formerly Twitter), despite repeated mention of the creation of a new administration.

For her part, Carolyn Leavitt, the incoming administration’s transition spokeswoman, said in a statement: “The American people re-elected President Trump because they trust him to lead our country and restore peace through strength around the world . When he returns to the White House, he will take the necessary steps to do so.

If the interview is confirmed, it would not be the first time that Musk, a private citizen outside the administration — the department he will co-lead will be outside the government — has attended key meetings related to an appointment. Last week, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he passed the phone to the Tesla owner and businessman. has repeatedly warned that its contribution will not be free.

Any direct contact between a senior Iranian official and Musk increases the likelihood that the United States’ stated hostility toward Iran will be toned down, at least at the beginning of the new Republican administration. The US Justice Department has its sights set on Iran, especially since the Trump campaign is reported to be preying on hackers in Tehran’s orbit, and last week it filed charges against three people for involvement in a plot to assassinate Trump . Campaign. Two of the three men, two New York residents who were paid $100,000 by an alleged Tehran agent for a scheme to track Republicans and known critics of the ayatollah regime, were arrested in Manhattan.

In early August, the Justice Department also accused John Bolton of trying to assassinate National Security Advisor John Bolton during Trump’s first term in order to avenge the death of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of the elite body mentioned above, in a daring drone strike on the Revolutionary Guard. Charged at Baghdad airport in January 2020.

The withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, despite unsuccessful attempts by Democratic administrations to reactivate it, has placed a stone burden on the almost non-existent bilateral relationship, but in the context of the Middle East, The ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon and a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, along with the reestablishment of diplomatic ties in 2023, represent a very different scenario from the first Trump administration. In September, new Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian extended his hand toward the United States to reactivate the nuclear deal, and a reported meeting between Musk and an Iranian diplomat appears to confirm this gesture, although the billionaire’s political and Diplomatic inexperience does not seem in principle to be the most appropriate tool to attempt that hypothetical thaw.