Prabowo Reveals Root Causes of Middle East Conflict, Citing Nuclear Arms Race

President Prabowo Subianto has spoken regarding the increasing escalation of conflict in the Middle East, noting the potential for a nuclear weapons race between nations. This was stated during a meeting with members of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) from central and regional levels at the State Palace on Friday (31/07/2026).

“Every evening, every night in the news—escalation, escalation, escalation,” he said. He noted the widespread perception that Iran has already acquired nuclear weapons, a move that could prompt other nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Egypt to follow suit.

“It is said that Iran already possesses nuclear weapons. Now, Saudi Arabia wants them too. If Saudi Arabia wants nuclear weapons, it is not impossible that the Emirates (UAE) will also want them, Qatar will want them, and Egypt will want them,” Prabowo remarked.

On that occasion, Prabowo also observed that countries rich in natural resources often face a ‘curse’ of being frequent targets, as seen in the Middle East. He noted that ‘divide and rule’ politics is a very real phenomenon in many nations.

“Why is there turmoil in the Middle East? The Middle East has much gas, much oil, and many other minerals. War has been raging there for hundreds of years. My brothers, ‘divide et impera’ (divide and rule) is not just something written in history books. It is real,” said Prabowo.