Jakarta. Leaders of the multitrillion-dollar group D-8 will put off their upcoming talks in Jakarta, as a war rages on in one of the group’s members, Iran.

The D-8 is an economic cooperation that unites major Muslim developing nations: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. Jakarta — which is at the bloc’s helm for 2026 — was supposed to host the leaders’ gathering on April 15. With only about a month left until D-Day, Jakarta decided that it would be unlikely to forge ahead with the summit as the Middle East conflict shows no sign of cooling down.

Senior diplomat Tri Tharyat told reporters on Friday that the government had been “keeping a close watch and making assessments” of the situation since the fighting erupted on February 28.

“However, there is no sign of de-escalation,” Tri said in Jakarta.

Jakarta also decided to put off other D8-related meetings. Foreign Minister Sugiono had penned letters to all D-8 member economies to notify them of the postponement. The revised date remains subject to further discussions.

“The members understand that holding off the summit was the best decision to make at this time,” Tri told the presser.

The D-8 Summit could have set the stage for Tehran to urge fellow members to slam the US-Israeli strike. Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Mohammad Boroujerdi had previously called on the D-8 to “stand on the right side of history by expressing a strong condemnation”. 

The first US-Israeli strikes on Iran began on Feb. 28, killing Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Tehran quickly responded with retaliatory strikes, while also firing at Gulf states that host US bases. The fighting has spurred oil price hikes and airspace closures.

D-8 members register a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $5.1 trillion. Its population size stands at 1.3 billion people. Trade between its members hit approximately $157 billion, according to the Indonesian government. 

Add as a preferred source on Google +