US President-elect Donald Trump’s close ally Elon Musk reportedly held a meeting with Iran’s UN ambassador, just a day before the Republican named him head of the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

According to a report by The New York Times, two Iranian officials familiar with the matter said Musk met with Iranian Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani on November 11. During the meeting, which lasted over an hour, the two leaders discussed ways to ease tensions between Iran and the United States.

One of the officials said Musk had requested the meeting, while the ambassador chose the location. The Iranians called the meeting “positive” and “good news,” according to The New York Times.

When asked if this meeting happened, Steven Cheung, communications director for Trump, told the NYT, “We don’t comment on reports of private meetings that did or didn’t happen.”

Relations between the US and Iran during the previous Trump presidency were tense, to say the least. Trump, who was previously US president from 2017 to 2021, imposed new sanctions on Iran in 2018 after withdrawing from a 2015 nuclear deal that had eased economic restrictions on Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

In another blow to Iran, Trump also ordered the drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian military official, in January 2020 in Iraq. In a speech in New York last September, Trump indicated openness to new nuclear negotiations. “We have to make a deal because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal,” the Republican had said.

On Thursday (Nov 14), Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, shared a post on X saying: “As a committed member of the NPT, we continue our full cooperation with the IAEA. Differences can be resolved through cooperation and dialogue. We agreed to continue with courage and goodwill. Iran has never left the negotiating table on its peaceful nuclear program. The ball is on the EU/E3 plan. Willing to negotiate based on our national interest and ours inalienable rights, but NOT ready to negotiate under pressure and threats.”

Araghchi’s post followed a meeting he held with Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

(With input from agencies)