Foreign Minister Sugiono Orders Indonesian Ambassador to Iran to Evacuate Indonesian Citizens

Jakarta – Foreign Minister Sugiono has ordered the Indonesian Ambassador to Iran, Rolliansyah Soemirat, to take urgent steps to evacuate Indonesian citizens in Iran, as Middle East tensions escalate involving Iran, the United States and Israel. ‘In the face of the increasingly escalating tensions, earlier today I also instructed our ambassador in Tehran to take immediate evacuation steps, should there be Indonesians who wish to be evacuated,’ Sugiono said at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, on Tuesday, 3 March 2026. According to Sugiono, not all Indonesians in the region have expressed a desire to be repatriated. However, he said that there are a number of Indonesians in Iran who are willing to be evacuated. Based on that, the evacuation will be carried out in stages. ‘It should be noted that among all Indonesians in the affected areas, not all of them have expressed a wish to be evacuated. But, as just noted, there are some who are willing to be evacuated from Iran and I have ordered the staged evacuation to be carried out,’ Sugiono said. He said the future developments will continue to be monitored in line with the dynamics in the region. President Prabowo Subianto, he added, also emphasised that Indonesia must be prepared to face any possible consequences arising from the conflict. Regarding diplomatic efforts, Sugiono disclosed that he had also spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. In that conversation, Sugiono conveyed that Indonesia regrets the failure of negotiations that led to the escalation of the conflict in the region. Indonesia, he said, also reaffirmed the principle of respect for the integrity and sovereignty of a country’s territory, and the importance of returning to the negotiating table to ease tensions. Additionally, Sugiono conveyed President Prabowo’s wish to play a mediating role in efforts to cool and reduce the regional escalation. ‘We reiterate the President’s desire to become a mediator in efforts to calm and de-escalate the situation in the region, and this is in line with the views he has also accepted,’ Sugiono said.