In the latest surprising development accompanying Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, the New York Times has reported that Trump advisor Elon Musk quietly met with Iran’s United Nations ambassador on Monday to discuss how the United States and Iran might ease tensions.   News of Musk’s peace-seeking overture came after Trump caused widespread dismay among America-First conservatives and libertarians by nominating an assortment of anti-Iran hawks and zealous backers of the State of Israel to important foreign policy and national security positions. Those selectees included Sen. Marco Rubio for Secretary of State, Fox News host Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense, and New York Representative and campus speech-policer Elise Stefanik for UN ambassador.  Given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long-held ambition to enmesh America in a war with Iran, Trump’s decision to surround himself with extreme advocates for Israel dampened hopes that he would make good on his campaign pledge to bring peace to a long-smoldering Middle East that’s been ravaged by escalating and widening warfare since the Oct. 7 2023 Hamas invasion of southern Israel. However, the revelation of Musk’s meeting with Iranian UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani bolstered hopes of an earnest Trump pursuit of “peace through strength.”  According to the Times report, which cited anonymous Iranian officials, the meeting was initiated by […]