Indonesia says Pakistan, UAE back Prabowo as Iran mediator
The Straits Times
The President wants to meet with Iran, an official said. Read more at straitstimes.com.
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Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s offer to mediate in the Iran conflict has backing from countries including Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an official said.
Mr Prabowo and leaders of various Muslim-majority nations are aligned in seeking to prevent conflict in the Middle East from escalating, Indonesia’s Agrarian Affairs Minister Nusron Wahid said on March 5 after a meeting between the President and local Islamic leaders.
“The President wants to meet with Iran,” Mr Wahid, also a senior member of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), one of the country’s largest Muslim organisations, told reporters. “He has received support from several Middle Eastern countries, including Pakistan and the UAE.”
The comments came after Mr Prabowo hosted a Ramadan dinner at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta where he spoke for more than three hours while outlining his views on conflict in the Middle East. The gathering came a night after the President dined with former presidents and other leaders to gather support for his position on the issue.
Mr Prabowo has faced rising criticism since the outbreak of the conflict for joining President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and offering to deploy thousands of peacekeeping troops to the Gaza region. Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI), an influential Islamic clerical body, this week urged the government to reconsider participation, as did a senior opposition lawmaker.
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