Jakarta. A former Indonesian diplomat Dino Patti Djalal said that Jakarta would need to take advantage of its bilateral ties with Iran to prevent further escalation of the Middle East conflict.

Iran recently launched missiles on Israel in retaliation for the latter’s air raid on the Iranian consulate in Syria. The attack immediately sparked reactions from the international community, many fearing escalation risks. Dino said Jakarta should try persuading Tehran to restrain itself to prevent the conflict from soaring. 

“We always speak highly about our close ties with Iran. … We should make use of our good bilateral relations with Iran, to tell them: ‘Please, restrain yourself. You [Iran] have reiterated. We don’t want a regional war’,” Dino, who previously served as the Indonesian Ambassador to the US, told a virtual conference on Monday.

Indonesia does not have official diplomatic relations with Israel, thus having Jakarta making similar demands bilaterally was out of the question, according to Dino. The ex-envoy said that Indonesia needs to do more than make a statement that calls for conflict de-escalation.

“Please make a call to Tehran, … ask them what is going on and what is on their mind …. From there, perhaps we can contact the US to relay the message and find a middle ground. Everyone is making a statement. But a statement, especially one by the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s spokesperson, has little impact [on the situation] because everyone [other countries] are also making one,” Dino said.

Last year, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo hosted a visit by his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi at the Bogor Palace. During the visit, both countries inked a string of pacts, including a preferential trade agreement. Government data shows Indonesia-Iran trade amounted to $206.9 million throughout 2023.

Indonesia recently issued a foreign ministerial statement in response to the attacks. In the statement, Jakarta urges all parties to exercise self-restraint, while also telling the UN Security Council to act immediately to cool down the conflict. 

Dino also warned that the UN Security Council could struggle to reach a consensus on the matter. The body has 5 permanent members --the US, the UK, France, Russia, China-- who all have the power to veto a resolution vote.  The UN Security Council recently convened an emergency meeting at Israel’s request. Dino said that it would be hard for the UN Security Council to reach a consensus, judging by how long it took for the body to pass a resolution related to the Gaza conflict because of US vetoes.

“We will likely see clashes between the US-France-UK versus China-Russia at the UN Security Council. … The possibility of the UN Security Council being able to come up with a resolution on [the Israel-Iran conflict] is incredibly small,” Dino said.

The UK has condemned Iran’s attack on Israel, which London even called “relentless”. The US is known for its support for Israel, with its president Joe Biden saying that American forces had helped it take down nearly all missiles launched by Iran. Although Washington said that it would not help Israel if it wished to launch a counterattack against Iran. French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris would do all it could to avoid further escalation, while also calling Iran’s attack “disproportionate”. China called the latest attack a spillover from the Gaza conflict, while Russia is known for its close ties with Iran. 
 

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