Indonesia says Pakistan, UAE back Prabowo as Iran mediator

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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s offer to mediate in the Iran conflict has backing from countries including Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an official said.

Mr Prabowo and leaders of various Muslim-majority nations are aligned in seeking to prevent conflict in the Middle East from escalating, Indonesia’s Agrarian Affairs Minister Nusron Wahid said on March 5 after a meeting between the President and local Islamic leaders.

“The President wants to meet Iran,” Mr Wahid, also a senior member of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), one of the country’s largest Muslim organisations, told reporters. “He has received support from several Middle Eastern countries, including Pakistan and the UAE.”

The comments came after Mr Prabowo hosted a Ramadan dinner at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, where he spoke for more than three hours while outlining his views on conflict in the Middle East. The gathering came a night after the President dined with former presidents and other leaders to gather support for his position on the issue.

Mr Prabowo has faced rising criticism since the outbreak of the conflict for joining US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and offering to deploy thousands of peacekeeping troops to the Gaza region. Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), an influential Islamic clerical body, urged the government this week to reconsider participation, as did a senior opposition lawmaker. 

Others in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation have criticised the President’s delayed condolences after the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The gathering on March 5 brought together more than a hundred leaders from major Islamic organisations, including MUI, NU, Muhammadiyah and others. Some in attendance urged the government to delay Board of Peace plans or reassess Indonesia’s participation, while officials argued that remaining engaged could give Jakarta room to promote peace efforts, according to accounts from several attendees.

Mr Prabowo indicated that Indonesia would withdraw from the initiative if it no longer serves the goal of supporting Palestinian independence, Mr Cholil Nafis, a vice-chairman of MUI, told reporters. 

“If it is not for Palestine, he is ready to withdraw,” Mr Nafis said, recounting the President’s remarks.

Mr Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Prime Minister, said that PM Shehbaz Sharif had been in continued conversation with Mr Prabowo, including two interactions in the past 24 hours, in an effort to accelerate a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Mr Prabowo also revealed that Mr Sharif was willing to join him in visiting Tehran, according to Mr Jimly Asshiddiqie, chairman of the advisory council of the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association.

The development was “very good news”, Mr Asshiddiqie said, adding that it showed Mr Prabowo’s thinking was receiving support from the Pakistani leader and not coming from Indonesia alone. BLOOMBERG