VP Ma'ruf Amin: Indonesia Tries to Prevent U.S.-Iran War

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Vice President Ma'ruf Amin said the Indonesian government is making an endeavor to prevent a war between the United States and Iran by encouraging the two nations to find solution to their conflict.

"We (Indonesia) want peace. Hence, what we have to do is to find a peace solution so the war will not happen," he said at the Vice Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Iran launched a series of missiles at two US airbases in Iraqi bases as their first response to the killing of General Qassem Suleimani due to the US airstrike," PT Garuda Berjangka Director, Ibrahim Assuaibi, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

If the war is inevitable it will have an impact on the world's political and economic condition which will eventually affect the domestic condition, he said.

"If the war happens, it will have a very detrimental impact on the world. The economy will be damaged. In the political field, blocks will be set up. That is very dangerous," he said.

Hence, the Indonesian government along with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Nations will encourage various parties involved in the US-Iran conflict to exercise self restraint.

"We, Indonesia, along with peace-loving nations including OIC members in the Middle East and through the UN will make every effort to prevent the war from happening," he said.

The vice president also supported the effort made by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to summon US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph Donovan and Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Mohammad Azad separately to discuss ways to exercise self restraint..

On Wednesday morning, Iran reportedly attacked the Al-Asad airbase housing US troops in Iraq several hours after the funeral of the commander of Iran's elite Quds military force.

Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad, raising fears of an open war in the Middle East.

ANTARA