Elon Musk reportedly joined the phone call between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 24 March, about US' ongoing conflict with Iran. His presence marked an ‘unusual appearance’ in a call between two leaders of nations, New York Times reported on Friday, citing two US officials.
It was unclear why Musk was on the call or whether he spoke, mentioned the report.
PM Modi and Trump's phone call On Tuesday, US envoy Sergio Gor posted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump discussed the Middle East crisis and the “importance of keeping Strait of Hormuz open”.
PM Modi confirmed that he received a call from President Trump and “had a useful exchange of views on the situation in West Asia”.
PM Narendra Modi wrote on X, “India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world. We agreed to stay in touch regarding efforts towards peace and stability.”
Although widely referred to as Donald Trump's ‘First Buddy' during his win in the presidential elections, Musk and the POTUS had a feud around June-July 2025 – which was widely reported.
Thaw in ties? New York Times' report citing US officials, noted that Elon Musk's presence in the call could point to a possible thaw in his ties with President Donald Trump after their reported fallout. It also noted that Musk’s business interests—across space, energy and emerging markets—overlap with regions affected by the crisis, including the Gulf and India.
The developments come amid the ongoing conflict between US, Israel and Iran - which has also pushed Gulf nations to the edge.
West Asia conflict Iran launched a wave of retaliatory strikes after US, Israel jointly attacked the Islamic Republic on Saturday, 28 February. Explosions were reported across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, among other key West Asian hubs – which are also home to US military bases.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US expects to finish its operations in Iran “in the next couple of weeks,” as per AFP.
He said the objectives were already being met and progress was ahead of schedule, speaking after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France.