ISESS Demands TNI Clarify Domestic Security Situation Following Iran-US Conflict
Co-founder of the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) Khairul Fahmi has called on the TNI to explain the domestic security situation in the midst of conflict in the Middle East. He also demanded that the military provide adequate explanations regarding the leak of a secret telegram about Alert Status One being imposed by TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto.
According to Khairul, although the alert readiness instruction issued by the commander was tactically intended for internal purposes, the decision has now circulated widely and triggered public anxiety. “The military term Alert Status One carries enormous psychological weight in the ears of the civilian public,” he told Tempo on Monday, 9 March 2026.
Khairul warned that the circulation of information about TNI Alert Status One without adequate explanation would severely damage national stability. In the economic sector, he said, markets are highly sensitive to security issues. The misconception that the country is in a critical condition could trigger market panic, panic selling on the stock exchange, and capital flight. “Meanwhile at the grassroots level this could spark social unrest that is completely unnecessary,” he said.
The security sector researcher believed that in the digital era where information leaks are nearly impossible to contain, the TNI can no longer adopt a reactive or passive stance. “Managing public perception in a measured manner is an inseparable part of security operations themselves,” he said.
TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto issued a telegram establishing Alert Status One for all defence units across Indonesia on 1 March 2026. The decision required all military units to maintain high alert status to anticipate domestic threats amid escalating conflict in the Middle East following the outbreak of war between Iran versus the United States and Israel.
In the telegram it was stated that the TNI needed to mobilise personnel and main weapons systems. The armed forces were also required to conduct patrols at strategically vital facilities and economic centres, including airports, ports, railway stations and bus terminals.
Additionally, there were orders for Kodam Jaya/Jayakarta to conduct security patrols at foreign embassy offices in Jakarta. Intelligence units were also deployed to detect and prevent any groups from exploiting the Middle East situation to cause disorder domestically.
Meanwhile, the TNI General Headquarters Public Affairs Centre Chief Brigadier General Aulia Dwi Nasrullah has not yet provided further explanation regarding the specific threats mentioned or how long Alert Status One would be implemented. He only explained that establishing Alert Status One for all defence units across Indonesia aimed to anticipate developments in the international, regional and national environment.
“Thus the TNI must have high operational readiness, one of which is by conducting regular alert readiness checks,” said TNI General Headquarters Public Affairs Centre Chief Brigadier General Aulia Dwi Nasrullah when contacted on Saturday, 7 March 2026.