Jakarta. The heightened tensions in the Middle East have sparked fears of a wider war in the Middle East, and Indonesia even warned countries to exercise self-control to prevent further escalation in the regional conflict.

Over the past few days, the Middle East conflict has witnessed some major escalations. Israel’s Beirut airstrikes recently killed Hassan Nasrallah, a secretary-general at the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Iran also fired Tuesday waves of ballistic missiles at Israel, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate to the attack.

“Indonesia is very worried about the latest developments in the [Middle East] region. We urge everyone to exercise self-restraint,” Foreign Affairs Ministry’s spokesman Roy Soemirat said on Wednesday.

“Indonesia is also very worried by the possibility of a wider war to happen as warned by the UN Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres],” Roy said.

Indonesia also urges the UN Security Council --who often goes under fire for inaction-- to convene an emergency meeting in response to the heightened Middle East conflict. Roy said: “We hope that the council can make a decision that can cool down the tension in the region as soon as possible.”

In related news, Indonesia recently announced that it was aiming for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council for the 2029-2030 term. The council is responsible for adopting resolutions aimed at maintaining international peace and security.

According to Roy, Indonesia also continues to work on the evacuation process to get its citizens out of Lebanon. The government previously said that they would also likely deploy its military units that it had assigned to the UN peacekeeping in Lebanon to help with the evacuation process. As many as 155 Indonesian citizens currently live in Lebanon.

Add as a preferred source on Google +