Jakarta. Iran, a country that is currently at war with Israel, has invited President Prabowo Subianto for a state visit as the Indonesian leader gained recognition for his frequent foreign trips.

President Prabowo Subianto is currently on another international trip with close neighbor Singapore being the first stop. He will soon set foot in Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. Amid Prabowo’s trip, the military confrontation between Israel and Iran still shows no signs of ending. Speaking to Jakarta-based reporters, Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Mohammad Boroujerdi called Prabowo as someone “very active in diplomacy”.

“Prabowo has gone to and interacted with different countries around the world. That’s why we wish to invite Prabowo to visit our country. On this occasion, we would like to extend this invitation once again,” Boroujerdi told a presser at his Jakarta residence on Tuesday. 

“If Prabowo accepts [Iranian] President Masoud Pezeshkian's invitation, we can arrange the perfect time for their meeting,” the diplomat said.

The envoy also urged Jakarta and other Muslim nations to exert economic pressure on Israel by boycotting its products. Boroujerdi revealed that Iran had been in communication with the Indonesian government following Israel’s attacks. He said: “We hope that Indonesia -- as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country -- continues to support Iran on various international platforms.”

Global matters such as the Israel-Iran conflict are among the popular topics in bilateral, high-level meetings. This applied to Prabowo’s talks with Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday. Prabowo revealed at the time that both leaders “expressed deep concern in Gaza and the escalation of the Israel-Iran conflict. We emphasize the importance of peaceful solutions and negotiation. We call for an immediate ceasefire.” 

Prabowo’s upcoming talks with Putin are expected to touch on the conflict as Israel and Iran continue to exchange deadly attacks. Putin has offered to carry out mediation efforts between the two warring sides, Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency revealed, citing the Kremlin.

When Israel bombed Tehran last week, Indonesia immediately condemned the attack, while urging all parties to exercise restraint. Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widod,o flew to Iran in 2016. Fast forward to 2023, Iran’s then-President Ebrahim Raisi headed to Indonesia to announce the signing of a preferential trade agreement. Indonesia-Iran trade had grown from $206.2 million in 2023 to $217.3 million the following year, official statistics showed.