Iran-U.S. enmity has been interrupted for only brief periods, one of which came via the 2015 nuclear deal that imposed limits on Iran’s atomic activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump withdrew from that deal in 2018 and imposed even harsher sanctions.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations declined to comment on a New York Times report that Trump ally Elon Musk met with Iran’s ambassador to the U.N.

Some in Iran’s new, more moderate government think the result of the presidential election provides an opportunity to make a lasting deal with the United States.