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View all search resultsFrom late condolences to no condemnation: Prabowo walks ‘diplomatic tightrope’ on Iran war
A late letter of condolences on the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the lack of condemnation on the United States-Israel strike may influence how Iran sees Indonesia’s position on the conflict, analysts say.
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President Prabowo Subianto greets journalists when preparing to welcome former presidents during a high-level briefing on March 3 with top political and business figures on latest geopolitical development at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta. (Antara/Bayu Pratama S.)
W
hen 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, who at the time 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 prioritize 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 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.
