Amid US-Iran Tensions, Elon Musk Meets Iranian Ambassador at Secret Location: Reports

Washington: Amid the ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States, Elon Musk, a close ally of President-elect Donald J. Trump, is learnt to have met Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday in New York, according to media reports.

Media reports citing two Iranian officials said the meeting, that could prove crucial, between Musk and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani lasted for over an hour and was held at a secret location.  

Billionaire businessman Musk rose as the most powerful private citizen in the Trump transition. Last week, Musk joined Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky amid Russia's aggression against Kyiv.

The meeting between the Iranian Ambassador and Musk triggers a possibility of a change in tone between Tehran and Washington under the Trump 2.0 administration, despite a charged history between the president-elect and Iran.

Reports further suggested that it was Musk who had urged for the meeting.

During his stint as US President, Trump (78) pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers, describing it as “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,”. He also went on to impose tough economic sanctions on Iranian oil revenues and international banking transactions.

US Claims Iran's Involvement in Trump's Assassination Bid, Tehran Rejects Accusations

The Republican leader had also ordered the assassination of a top Iranian general, Qassim Suleimani, in Iraq in 2020.

Responding to Trump's move, Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei prohibited any negotiations with the Trump administration and Iranian officials vowed to avenge Suleimani’s killing. Recently, the US claimed Iran's involvement in a plot to assassinate Donald Trump before the US elections. Consequently, the US department of Justice charged an Iranian man, tapped by Iran, to kill Trump.

However, Iran denied the allegatIon calling it a "third-rate comedy."

Following Trump's victory, Iran has been publicly debating whether it can now reach a new and more lasting deal with the United States. Many members of new President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government have advocated for negotiations, arguing that Trump likes to make deals and that there may be an opportunity to get the sanctions lifted.

Refusing the allegations Iran Foreign Minister tweeted ," Remember the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran right after our President's inauguration? Everyone knows who did it and why.  Now, with another election, a new scenario is fabricated with the same goal: as a killer does not exist in reality, scriptwriters are brought in to manufacture a third-rate comedy. Who can in their right mind believe that a supposed assassin SITS IN IRAN and talks online to the FBI?!"

"The American people have made their decision. And Iran respects their right to elect the President of their choice. The path forward is also a choice. It begins with respect. Iran is NOT after nuclear weapons, period. This is a policy based on Islamic teachings and our security calculations. Confidence-building is needed from both sides. It is not a one-way street," he added.

Reports, citing Iranian officials, further claimed that the meeting with Musk provided a workaround for Iran, without requiring it to sit directly with an American official. However, Musk will, soon have an official role as he has been named as the co-director of a newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

It is learnt that Ambassador Iravani told Musk that he should obtain sanctions exemptions from the Treasury and urged him to set up his businesses in Tehran also.