JAKARTA: When news broke on March 1 of the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei following a United States-Israel military strike on the West Asian country, reactions poured in from leaders across the world, ranging from shock, protest and praise. But little was said by President Prabowo Subianto (pic).
At the time Prabowo had just returned from a week-long overseas trip that included attending the inaugural US-led Board of Peace meeting in Washington, raising questions behind the motivation of his and his administration’s relative silence on the conflict’s escalation.
Indonesia’s first official statement on the war came almost immediately after the first strike on Feb 28, with the Foreign Ministry “deeply regretting” the failure of negotiations between the US and Iran.
While calling all parties to exercise restraint and to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy, the statement stopped short of condemning the strikes.
It took four days after Khamenei’s killing for the President to formally offer his condolences in a letter to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which was delivered last Wednesday (March 4) by Foreign Minister Sugiono through Iranian Ambassador in Jakarta Mohammad Boroujerdi.
The move came after former president Megawati Soekarnoputri had sent her own personal letter to Tehran expressing her condolences over Khamenei’s killing and solidarity in rejecting all forms of unilateral military aggression.
Megawati chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the only party outside Prabowo’s ruling coalition.
A day before Sugiono met with Boroujerdi, the ambassador also visited former vice president Jusuf Kalla at the latter’s residence in Jakarta, during which he expressed hope for support from Indonesian Muslim communities.
The Foreign Ministry’s statement and Prabowo’s late letter drew comparisons from other world leaders, including Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim who “unreservedly” condemned Khamenei’s assassination while warning the strikes brought the Middle East to “the edge of grave and sustained instability”.
Indonesia’s muted and delayed response to the escalating conflict in Iran has drawn scrutiny at home, with some analysts suggesting it reflects the narrowing room for diplomatic manoeuvre after Jakarta decided to join the Board of Peace.
The government is seen to remain “neutral” by avoiding naming the actor involved in the initial act of unprovoked aggression, said international relations researcher Pieter Pandhi from Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“They are likely attempting to walk a tightrope between avoiding condemning and upsetting Washington and appearing to defend Tehran,” Pieter said, “which has come at the cost of its own long-held principles like sovereignty and respect for international law.”
Some critics called Prabowo’s delayed condolences ironic, given that the President had offered, through the Foreign Ministry’s first statement after the attack, to travel to Tehran in person and mediate the warring parties, if agreed by both sides, to help restore a stable security environment.
“Expressions of condolences are customary when the leader of a friendly country to Indonesia dies. Is this forgetfulness or intentional? If intentional, what are we afraid of? Are we sure we are still free and active?” wrote former deputy foreign minister Dino Patti Djalal on X on Wednesday.
Analysts note the way that Indonesia responded to the war's outbreak may influence how Iran perceives Indonesia’s position on the conflict, noting such a cold attitude may have dampened Jakarta’s chance to convince Iran to engage in dialogue and pick the country as peace mediator.
“A mediator must be accepted by both parties. Iran would want one that shows genuine sympathy toward its position, including its sovereignty and its nuclear energy programme, which it claims for peaceful purposes only,” said Teuku Rezasyah, international relations analyst from Padjajaran University.
He added the lack of stronger language in Indonesia’s official statement during the first 24 hours after the attack became a missed opportunity to assert its position on the conflict.
The government could have emphasised how the US-Israel strike on Iran violated the United Nations Charter, which prohibits states from threatening or using force against one’s territorial integrity or political independence.
“The world would understand who committed the violation and who the victim was,” Rezasyah said.
Indonesia’s repeated offer to mediate the conflict also came at a difficult time of the conflict that can be seen as “potentially misreading the situation”, said CSIS’ Pieter.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he is not interested in negotiating with Iran, who dismissed his demand for an unconditional surrender.
“Prabowo’s mediation offer may fall on uninterested ears at this point,” Pieter said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
