Hassan: Indonesia Must Be Accepted by the US and Iran If It Wants to Be a Mediator

Former Foreign Minister Noer Hassan Wirajuda said that Indonesia’s plan for President Prabowo Subianto to act as a mediator in the conflict between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other is not merely about national capability but the willingness of the conflicting parties to accept mediation. He stated this after a meeting with Prabowo at Istana Kepresidenan Merdeka in Jakarta on Tuesday, 3 March 2026. The talks were attended by the president, vice president, former foreign ministers, and party leaders in parliament. ‘We are not discussing what Indonesia is capable of or not. That is an initial line of thinking. To become a mediator there must also be acceptance from the two sides in conflict. And we have not seen signs of that yet,’ Hassan said at the Presidential Palace. During the 3.5-hour meeting, Prabowo outlined the latest developments in the escalating conflict in the Gulf region. ‘In particular, the latest developments concerning the war or attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran,’ he said. The president, he added, also highlighted the implications of the US-Israel war with Iran for Indonesia and the global order. ‘When the order of the world is no longer effective and there is no longer any mechanism for countries that are attacked militarily to appeal to anyone,’ he said. ‘And indeed the United Nations no longer has a role and the rule-based order is only a concept on paper.’ This situation, Hassan said, is a dilemma not only for Indonesia but for other countries. Therefore Prabowo regards it as important to communicate the issues facing the nation to the national figures present. Hassan noted that Prabowo also discussed the economic implications of the US-Israel war against Iran. ‘The potential effects of this war on the global economy, particularly regarding supply, oil and gas, and our calculations of the impact on ourselves,’ Hassan said. The former foreign minister (2001–2009) added that Prabowo also discussed estimates of how long the war might last. ‘Earlier, President Donald Trump spoke of days; now it is weeks,’ Hassan said. Additionally, Prabowo and the other figures discussed Indonesia’s membership in the Board of Peace, as geopolitics heats up, a consideration in determining the country’s next steps. ‘We discussed this, but also in the context of the latest developments whether the war raging in Iran will weaken the BoP’s position and mandate; we will recalculate on that,’ Hassan said.