Indonesian Ambassador Denied Access to Khamenei's Lying-in-State, Foreign Minister Explains

The moment Indonesia’s Ambassador to Tehran, Rolliansyah Soemirat, attended the memorial ceremony for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei drew attention after he was unable to enter the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, where the body was lying in state. Foreign Minister Sugiono has provided an explanation. Sugiono said Indonesia had received an invitation to the final tribute ceremony for Khamenei. He stated there were no plans to send a special envoy from Indonesia due to various technical considerations. “We received notification or an invitation regarding the event. And at that time, we also said that the Indonesian Ambassador in Iran would represent the Indonesian Government,” Sugiono said at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta on Monday. “Due to various technical considerations, as we were also preparing for state visits in Indonesia and several key officials had commitments that made it impossible to go there,” he continued. However, on 2 July, the government received information that Iran would only grant access to officials above the rank of ambassador. In this case, the government did not have the opportunity to send a replacement due to time constraints. “Then we received confirmation that Iran would only give access to officials above ambassador level, on the 2nd if I am not mistaken. So we also did not have the chance to send a replacement,” he said. Sugiono said his office has been coordinating to attend the funeral procession scheduled for 9 July. He mentioned they are still awaiting a response from the Iranian government. “After that, we continued to coordinate, and because the funeral will be held on Thursday the 9th, as planned,” he said. “We plan to attend. We are still waiting for confirmation of the time and place where we can attend the funeral ceremony. Because as we know, there is a procession related to the series of events for the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader,” Sugiono continued. Sugiono said he himself would depart together with the Speaker of the People’s Consultative Assembly, Ahmad Muzani. “The plan is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia to depart together with the Speaker of the MPR RI,” he said.