UI Student Asks if Indonesia Can Mediate US-Iran Conflict, JK Responds Thus
Tenth and twelfth Vice President of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla (JK) served as a speaker at a public lecture on the Dynamics of Middle East Conflicts at Universitas Indonesia (UI). JK responded to a question from a student regarding the possibility of Indonesia acting as a mediator in the war initiated by the United States-Israel against Iran.
“Can Indonesia play a role in this world’s conflict?” said JK, quoting the student’s question during the public lecture at the UI campus in Depok, West Java, on Tuesday (7/4/2026).
“It can, certainly. Provided we have their trust (the conflicting parties),” JK continued.
According to JK, the primary capital for reconciling conflicts is trust. He assessed that Iran currently does not trust Indonesia much.
“Now, with Iran, they don’t trust us too much. They see us as too biased towards America,” he stated.
JK said this makes Iran not respect Indonesia much. According to him, this cannot resolve the issue.
“In the end, Iran doesn’t respect us much, so we cannot resolve, or participate in resolving (the conflict),” he explained.
JK stated that Indonesia must prioritise a free and active foreign policy. He recalled the role of Indonesia’s first President Sukarno, who was able to mobilise the world through the Asian-African Conference (KAA).
“Bung Karno was firm, able to initiate the Asian-African Conference, and that liberated many countries and brought peace because of firmness. So we can have (a role) as long as our diplomatic relations are good and we remain in the position, say, of the non-aligned group,” explained the Chairman General of the Indonesian Red Cross.
JK recounted his own experiences in trying to maintain communication with both sides. He claimed to regularly communicate with Iranian officials as well as American parties to find a middle ground.
“I spoke with the Iranian Ambassador, who came to my house multiple times. I spoke with the American side, Trump’s advisor, I said ‘why are you doing this?’ It has to be both sides, not just one,” said JK.