Elon Musk reportedly met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday, 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 two Iranian officials who spoke with the New York Times. 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, establishing himself as the country’s most influential civilian come January.
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,” said Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy, about Musk. “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.”
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 reinstated severe economic sanctions on Iran.
Also during his presidency, Trump ordered the US strike that killed Maj Gen Qassim Soleimani, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds force in January 2020. In September, intelligence provided to Trump’s campaign staff revealed that Iran was seeking to assassinate him.
“Whether America can have successful negotiations with Iran under Trump really will have to do with Musk or whoever is going to lead these negotiations, and a team that is dedicated to a negotiating process, that is willing to do the hard work that actual diplomatic process and international relations entails,” Toossi added.
Complicating matters is Trump’s strong support for Israel, which could open the way for all-out war between Israel and Iran once he becomes president. Israel has been at war with the Iranian-backed organizations Hamas and Hezbollah since the 7 October attack last year.
Seyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s minister of foreign affairs, said in an X post on Thursday: “Differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue. We agreed to proceed with courage and good will. Iran has never left the negotiation table on its peaceful nuclear program.”
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.
“We’re on the brink of an all-out regional war,” he said. “To restart this process, Trump is going to need technical experts on the nuclear issue, on the regional issue, to have working groups, to have honest interlocutors, and good-faith negotiators.”
