The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran, but a private meeting with Musk provided a bypass, allowing Iran to avoid meeting with a U.S. official, the New York Times reported.
The newspaper also reported that Musk had requested a meeting with the ambassador, and that Iranian officials called it “positive” and “good news.”
Trump spokesman Stephen Cheng said: “We do not comment on reports of private meetings that have or have not taken place.”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations and the White House declined a request for comment from CBS News.
During his first term, Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal under Barack Obama and reinstated tough economic sanctions that essentially bar American companies from doing business in Iran.
Trump also ordered the airstrike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.
The president-elect is also a strong supporter of Israel, which has been at war with Iran-backed groups Hamas and Hezbollah since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year.
There was a mask recently appointed co-head of Donald Trump’s new spending cuts department, which will advise on government spending cuts but will not be an official department of the government.
The tech billionaire and Tesla boss also joined Trump in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and played a key role in communicating with the Ukrainian military through his Starlink satellite internet system.
