Tech billionaire Elon Musk met Iran's U.N. ambassador and discussed ways to ease tensions between Iran and the United States, the New York Times reported on Friday.
Elon Musk Meets Ambassador
The meeting between Musk and Ambassador Amir Saeed Erawani, held at a secret location in New York and lasting more than an hour, was described by two Iranian officials as "positive" and focused on easing tensions between the two countries, the publication noted.
Meeting Suggests Trump's Willingness to Engage in Dialogue with Iran
The New York Times said Trump appointed Musk, owner of Tesla and X, as co-director of a new government efficiency agency during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week, he handed the phone to the tech billionaire. Musk has played a key role in providing communications capability to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
During his first term, Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, calling it "a horrible one-sided deal that should never have been made," and imposed tight economic sanctions on Iranian oil revenues and international banking transactions. He also ordered the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general, in Iraq in 2020. In response, Iran's supreme leader banned any negotiations with the Trump administration and Iranian officials vowed to avenge Soleimani's assassination. Federal prosecutors said in a court filing last week that Iran plotted to assassinate Trump before the election.
Completely Prepared to Collaborate
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Tehran on Thursday that Iran is fully prepared to cooperate with international bodies to address any questions about its peaceful nuclear programme. Pezeshkian underlined that the IAEA report indicated that Iran had fulfilled all its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, but the US unilaterally withdrew from it, a report by Iranian state media Irna reported. The NYT report cited an unnamed Iranian official as saying that in his meeting with Musk, Ambassador Iravani told the tech billionaire that he should obtain sanctions exemptions from the Treasury and bring some of his businesses to Tehran. Iran's mission to the UN said it would not comment publicly on the meeting, the publication said.
(Input From ANI)
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