Jakarta. Indonesia welcomes the last-minute US-Iran ceasefire while keeping its fingers crossed for a Hormuz passage.

US President Donald Trump has just announced that he would suspend the bombing of Iran for the next two weeks as part of a “double-sided ceasefire”. Iran’s top security body confirmed the truce, which will temporarily end the fighting that has sent shockwaves through global oil markets. Jakarta — which has been trying to get its tankers out of the Strait of Hormuz — reacted positively to the news.

“We welcome this ceasefire. … This reflects that there are efforts by the relevant parties to maintain room for diplomacy to de-escalate [the conflict]. Indonesia sees this as a positive start,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang told a press briefing in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Jakarta called on everyone to use this chance to achieve a sustainable peace. Yvonne added: “Dialogue and diplomacy are the only ways to resolve the conflict.”

The announcement came less than two hours before Trump’s deadline for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or else “a whole civilization will die”. Traffic in the vital oil chokepoint has ground to a halt since the US-Israeli airstrikes on Tehran at the end of February. Iran's territorial waters extend into the strait, enabling the oil-rich nation to close the narrow waterway in retaliation. The strait is also the only way out of the Persian Gulf, where two Indonesian oil tankers remain stuck. Jakarta is still in negotiations with Tehran.

In its ceasefire statement, Iran had promised to guarantee "safe passage" through the Strait of Hormuz during the two-week truce. However, it would also take into account the “technical considerations”. The global oil benchmark Brent has slumped to $94.6 per barrel after the ceasefire. Crude prices had smashed through the $100 barrier in the wake of the Iran war.

“Indonesia continues to emphasize the importance of respecting the freedom of navigation. This is a right guaranteed by international law,” Yvonne said, alluding to Jakarta’s hopes for an unblocked Strait of Hormuz.

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