United States: Musk met with Iranian official to ease tensions

Elon Musk, ally of US President-elect Donald Trump, met with the Iranian ambassador to the UN on Monday to “ease tensions” between Tehran and the United States, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

The daily quotes two anonymous Iranian sources specifying that the meeting of more than an hour in a secret location in New York between the billionaire and Amir Saeid Iravani had been “positive” and represented “good news”.

Questioned by AFP, Iran’s mission to the UN said it had “no comment”. Donald Trump’s team has not confirmed the meeting either.

The richest man on the planet

The US president-elect confirmed his campaign promise this week by appointing Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, to head a new Government Effectiveness Commission.

If the meeting is confirmed, it could be a sign that the president-elect has decided to opt for a diplomatic approach with Tehran.

During his first term, he was the architect of a so-called “maximum pressure” policy towards Iran, restoring heavy sanctions against Tehran which had been lifted as part of a historic nuclear agreement concluded in 2015. Iran sent a signal of openness to Donald Trump last week by calling on him to adopt a new policy against it, after Washington accused Tehran of involvement in a plan to assassinate the elected American president.

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