According to the New York Times, the United States does not have diplomatic relations with Tehran, but the closed-door meeting with Musk provided a solution for Iran to avoid meeting with U.S. officials.
The newspaper also reported that Musk had requested a meeting with the ambassador, which Iranian officials described as “positive” and “good news.”
“We do not comment on reports of private meetings that may or may not have occurred,” Trump spokesman Stephen Cheng said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations and the White House declined requests for comment from CBS News.
During his first term as president, Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal brokered during President Barack Obama’s term and reinstated harsh economic sanctions that largely bar U.S. companies from doing business in Iran.
President 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 waging war against Iran-backed groups Hamas and Hezbollah since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year.
Musk was recently named co-head of Donald Trump’s new cost-cutting unit. The department advises on reducing government costs, but is not an official department of the government.
The tech billionaire and Tesla boss joined Trump on a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and played a key role in providing communications to the Ukrainian military through his Starlink satellite internet system.
