Rizieq's Mandate: FPI asks Prabowo to publicly express condolences on the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Jakarta — The Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) has asked President Prabowo Subianto to issue an openly expressed condolence for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Habib Hanif Alatas, secretary of the FPI’s Majelis Syura, said the request is an instruction from former FPI Grand Imam Habib Rizieq Shihab conveyed through him.
“We just asked for, the mandate from Habib Rizieq, because Iran is a friendly country as well. We request that the President not only sends the Foreign Minister to convey condolences, but that the President publicly expresses condolences,” Habib Hanif said at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta, on Thursday (5/3).
He spoke after attending an iftar gathering with President Prabowo and a number of ulama, Islamic community organizations, and leaders of pesantrens at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Thursday night (5/3).
According to him, Iran is a friendly country to Indonesia and thus deserves support, especially as it faces attacks on its sovereignty. “It is being attacked; its sovereignty is under threat, just as we wish there to be no conquest on this earth. I think Iran’s stance in defending its sovereignty deserves support,” he said.
At the event, the FPI also called on Indonesia to withdraw from the Board of Peace (BoP). Hanif said the request had been officially conveyed via a letter entrusted to one of the ministers to deliver to President Prabowo.
“We have delivered the letter, entrusted through one of his ministers; we told the President that we still want Indonesia to withdraw from BoP. Not because we do not trust the President, but because we do not trust America, not Israel,” he said.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Sugiono officially conveyed Indonesia’s condolences on the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who perished in an attack by the United States and Israel. The letter was delivered by Sugiono to Iran’s Ambassador to the Republic of Indonesia Mohammad Boroujerdi during their meeting in Jakarta.
“I am delivering the letter from President Prabowo to President Masoud Pezeshkian to convey Indonesia’s deepest condolences on the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran,” the Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s official statement quoted in Jakarta, Wednesday (4/3).
On 28 February, the US and Israel launched a series of strikes on several targets in Iran, including in Tehran, with reports of damage and civilian casualties. Iran’s state television confirmed that the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the attack.