US Attacks Iran; Indonesia Urged to Cancel TNI Deployment to Gaza
The Indonesian Government has been urged to cancel plans to deploy thousands of Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) personnel on a peacekeeping mission as part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) to Gaza, Palestine. This follows the current warfare situation between Zionist Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Former Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal stated that an open war between Israel, the US, and Iran is believed to pose serious threats to the Middle East region and globally. The security threats in the region will also affect the situation in Palestine, particularly Gaza, which remains under a ceasefire with the Hamas fighting faction.
“I recommend that President Prabowo write a letter to President Donald Trump notifying him that Indonesia will suspend the deployment of peacekeeping forces for the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) in Gaza, whilst reassessing the serious situation currently developing in the Middle East,” said Dino on Sunday (1 March 2026).
According to Dino, recent combined US-Zionist military strikes on Tehran have further exposed serious and prolonged security complications in the Middle East and will impact any peace scenario being campaigned in Gaza, Palestine. US President Donald Trump chairs the Board of Peace (BoP), and Zionist Israel is one of the members of the Peace Council established to pursue peace in Gaza. The BoP established the ISF, a military coalition to be deployed to Gaza on that peacekeeping mission.
Besides heading the BoP, the US is also the principal commander of the ISF to be deployed to Gaza. Indonesia is a nation willing to join the BoP as a member and has been appointed as deputy commander of the ISF. President Prabowo pledged to deploy 8,000 TNI personnel to join 20,000 ISF troops, comprising forces from Morocco, Albania, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo, to be deployed to Gaza as an ad hoc peacekeeping force outside United Nations (UN) control.
According to Dino, the US attack on Iran as head of the BoP and ISF commander, together with Israel as a BoP member, will place international forces in Gaza, including the TNI, in a dangerous “trap”. Given that Hamas and fighting factions in Gaza, Palestine, have close ties with Iran.
“Hamas and other armed groups in Palestine have special ties with Iran. And that (the US-Zionist strike on Iran) will definitely have an impact (on Gaza). Especially since Indonesia’s peacekeeping forces (TNI) will essentially be under American command, and under the control of Donald Trump as head of the Board of Peace,” said Dino.
Through President Prabowo’s letter suspending the TNI deployment to Gaza, Dino said, it would simultaneously demonstrate Indonesia’s stance on the current Middle East situation. Dino also suggested that President Prabowo should not adopt a naive position regarding US demands.
“Through this message to President Donald Trump, we also simultaneously show that Indonesia is a nation with principles, with convictions, and is not easily taken for granted by other nations. Especially since Indonesia’s peacekeeping forces will eventually be under the leadership of Donald Trump, who frequently violates international law and often imposes his will on other nations, particularly weaker ones,” said Dino.
President Prabowo must steer Indonesia away from the risks emerging from the impact of US-Zionist strikes against Iran in Gaza. “We must avoid the risk of Indonesian forces becoming trapped in complications that may arise (in Gaza) from this tripartite conflict between America, Israel, and Iran, which will continue to develop,” said Dino.