Jakarta. An Iranian envoy is urging Indonesia not to fear doing business with Tehran despite US sanctions.

The Donald Trump 2.0 administration has been keeping a close watch on Iran since the latter’s protest crackdown. At some point, Trump had even issued an ultimatum that any of Iran’s trade partners would risk paying 25% tariffs on US-bound goods. Trump did not specify whether he was targeting countries with substantial export-import volumes with Iran or simply anyone transacting with Tehran. The US has also had a history of slapping sanctions against the Iranian oil sector.

Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Mohammad Boroujerdi recently admitted that many of Jakarta’s companies were being “a little too cautious of the sanctions”. However, Boroujerdi hopes that whatever the US does will not confine Indonesia’s trade freedom.

“Some European companies and others are still having economic cooperation with Iran. … Independent countries like Indonesia have declared several times that they are not going to obey any kind of unilateral sanctions,” Boroujerdi said in an exclusive interview with the Jakarta Globe.

“When you obey any kind of US sanctions, you are imposing sanctions on your companies. Because there are a lot of benefits to doing business with Iran.”

Indonesia is nearing the finish line in a tariff deal negotiation with the Trump 2.0 government. Amidst the high-stakes talks and Trump’s capricious tariff policies, Jakarta already has a preferential trade agreement (PTA) with Tehran, which had already completed its lawmaking process in 2025. A PTA lowers the import tax on certain goods. 

The Globe asked Boroujerdi whether there was a possibility of upgrading it to a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) in a world haunted by US tariff threats. Boroujerdi said: “The US is a big partner, but it is not the king of the world”.

“They [the US] cannot dictate independent countries like Indonesia to obey them,” the diplomat remarked.

Government data showed Indonesia-Iran trade rose from $217.3 million in 2024 to $257.9 million the following year. Indonesia enjoyed a $240.2 million surplus, which is largely driven by $57.8 million in fruit exports. 

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