Elon Musk reportedly met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations this week, a day before Donald Trump named the SpaceX founder as one of the heads of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency.
The meeting was a discussion of how to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States, according to Iranian officials. One of the Iranian officials said that the Tesla executive requested the meeting and that the ambassador picked the site.
As Trump prepares to address conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, Musk, the world’s richest man, has been assisting in discussions with foreign officials, and establishing himself as the country’s most influential civilian come January 2025.
Earlier this month, Musk reportedly made a guest appearance on a call between Trump and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who thanked Musk for the satellites he had been providing Ukraine through his company, Starlink.
“He’s now engaging the Iranians. And the Iranians have not engaged Americans in direct negotiations since before Trump left the nuclear deal, so this could be a very big deal,” said Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy.
“Differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue. We agreed to proceed with courage and goodwill. Iran has never left the negotiation table on its peaceful nuclear program,” he added.
Toossi said that, while Musk may be more “pragmatic” on issues related to foreign policy that is still not enough to improve relationships between Washington and Tehran.
Trump’s relationship with Iran is rocky, to say the least. During his presidency, he decided the US would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, established in 2015 during Barack Obama’s term, and reinstate severe economic sanctions on Iran.