CNBC and other mainstream networks are screaming about a meeting between Elon Musk and Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, which happened Monday, but is only now being revealed by the NY Times and others. They are questioning just how involved Musk is in America's national security affairs.
The MSM is deeply concerned about such unofficial diplomacy, given Musk is closely advising President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team. And yet, this is how diplomacy among influential figures often happens:
Elon Musk, a close adviser to President-elect Donald J. Trump, met with Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations on Monday in New York in a session that two Iranian officials described as a discussion of how to defuse tensions between Iran and the United States.
The Iranians said the meeting between Mr. Musk and Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani lasted more than an hour and was held at a secret location. The Iranians, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss policy publicly, described the meeting as “positive” and “good news.”
Indeed it is good news when "enemies" and rivals of the United States can be engaged positively, in search of efforts to achieve peace in a region on the brink of exploding into bigger war, with the alternative being more endless death, destruction, and runaway escalation.
While the Trump team has not issued official comment, it's a great sign that Trump seems serious about deal-making toward ceasefire in places like Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. According to more from the NY Times:
Karoline Leavitt, the transition spokeswoman for the incoming Trump-Vance administration, said in a statement: “The American people re-elected President Trump because they trust him to lead our country and restore peace through strength around the world. When he returns to the White House, he will take the necessary action to do just that.”
Of course, the Iranian ambassador to the UN is not hard to find. He has over the years been interviewed and engaged by countless independent media sources - and understandably the Islamic Republic might be distrustful of neocons and hawks on both sides of the aisle.
Given the Biden administration for much of the past year has been talking big about ceasefire, but with nothing to show for it, the fact that Musk is engaging Tehran from behind the scenes on behalf of the incoming Trump administration can only be a win in a regional conflagration where so many lives have already been lost on all sides.
"An early direct meeting between a senior Iranian official and Mr. Musk raises the possibility of a change in tone between Tehran and Washington under the Trump administration, despite a charged history between the president-elect and Iran," the Times continues, admitting that yes - this is something to be hopeful about. "One of the Iranian officials said that it was Mr. Musk who had requested the meeting and that the ambassador picked the site."
De-escalation, especially on the nuclear front, is a good thing (but try convincing the mainstream media and Washington foreign policy gate-keepers...)
Important & straightforward talks with DG @rafaelmgrossi this morning.
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) November 14, 2024
As a committed member of NPT we continue our full cooperation with the IAEA. Differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue. We agreed to proceed with courage and good will.
Iran has never… pic.twitter.com/bwLLzrKzwE
But that aside, this is what the mainstream is most worried about
Mr. Musk has emerged as the most powerful private citizen in the Trump transition, and has sat in on nearly every job interview. During a call last week with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president-elect handed the phone to the billionaire. Mr. Musk has played a key role in providing communications capability to Ukraine in the war with Russia.
If all of this puts the warring sides on a potential path toward de-escalation, then it's something to welcome, instead of the usual sham accusations of 'foreign influence' or 'compromise' leveled by those usual deep state interests which have more to gain from perpetuating war and from the constant flow of arms that fuel it.