Iran sought covert Musk meeting to calm tensions with Trump — US official

WASHINGTON — Iran successfully sought a meeting with Elon Musk, a US official says, in one of a series of steps apparently aimed at easing tensions with President-elect Donald Trump.

Briefed on the meeting by a foreign colleague, the US official says Iran’s UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani met with Musk — a Trump ally named this week to advise his administration on ways to cut the federal government — on Monday in New York.

The official adds that the discussion covered a variety of topics, most notably Iran’s nuclear program, its support for anti-Israel groups throughout the Middle East and prospects for improved relations with the United States.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a non-US governmental meeting, says no immediate decisions were taken by either side. The official adds that the Iranians sought the meeting with Musk and that it did not take place at the Iranian mission to the UN.

The Trump transition team neither confirms nor denies the meeting, which was first reported by The New York Times, and Iran’s UN mission declines to comment.

Intelligence officials have said Iran opposed Trump’s second term, seeing him as more likely to increase tension between Washington and Tehran.