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Resty Woro Yuniar

When Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was laid to rest in Tehran earlier this month, Indonesia, home to more Muslims than any other nation on Earth, decided to send only its ambassador – at first.
The decision raised questions not only about Jakarta’s non-aligned foreign policy but also the tensions at the heart of President Prabowo Subianto’s prized “good-neighbour” diplomacy.
One former Indonesian ambassador called the minimal initial presence “a slap in the face” for Iran and asked whether Washington was to blame.
“From what I hear, Iran’s persistent efforts to invite the Indonesian government have gone unanswered,” Dino Patti Djalal, former envoy to the US, wrote in a pointed social media post on July 6.
They have their own pride, too – they wouldn’t beg for our presence
Dino Patti Djalal, former Indonesia ambassador
“They have their own pride, too – they wouldn’t beg for our presence,” he said. “Does this mean our ‘free and active’ foreign policy is starting to crumble because Indonesia is afraid or hesitant towards America?”
That same day, Foreign Minister Sugiono told reporters that the government was too tied up preparing for other state visits to attend Khamenei’s six-day nationwide state funeral, from July 3-9, adding that “several key officials were also busy so they could not go”.
Indonesia’s sole representative at the funeral was its ambassador to Iran, Rolliansyah Soemirat, who attended the lying-in-state and funeral prayer services at the Grand Mosalla complex in Tehran on July 3, though was reportedly denied entry to an area reserved exclusively for high-ranking dignitaries.

Days later, Sugiono flew to Iran with parliament speaker Ahmad Muzani and the leaders of Indonesia’s two largest Islamic organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, arriving too late for the funeral but becoming the first foreign delegation to pay respects directly at Khamenei’s grave in Mashhad, on July 10.
Then on Wednesday, Jakarta’s foreign ministry confirmed that Prabowo himself would also be visiting, at Iran’s request, once a “mutually convenient time” had been identified.
Agung Nurwijoyo, an international relations lecturer at the University of Indonesia, said Jakarta might have been concerned that the presence of high-ranking officials at Khamenei’s funeral “could be interpreted … as siding with a particular party”, given that “the level of distrust between Iran and the United States is currently very high”.
“Sugiono’s visit … is an effort by Indonesia to ensure its relations with Iran do not decline in quality and to emphasise that Indonesia continues to maintain communication with all actors in the region,” he said.

In Mashhad, Indonesia’s foreign minister met his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, where both pledged their commitment to “resolve various conflicts through dialogue, diplomacy, respect for state sovereignty and international law”, according to an Indonesian foreign ministry statement.
Iran’s own statement eschewed the diplomatic niceties, labelling the war launched by the US and Israel in February an “unprecedented violation of the UN Charter and international law”, with Araghchi himself calling for Islamic unity “in the face of the Zionist regime’s expansionism, genocide and colonial apartheid”.
Tehran further called for “all countries to uphold the rule of law and prevent the normalisation of lawlessness and rogue behaviour”.
No longer neutral?
Analysts doubt the initial perceived snub will scupper Jakarta’s relationship with Tehran outright.
Ade Marup Wirasenjaya, a political scientist at the University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, believes Tehran used the funeral as a sort of sorting exercise, “to determine who remained a partner and who had drifted away”.
By that measure, he said Indonesia might have failed the test: its reluctance to forcefully condemn US and Israeli actions could have left it looking, in Iranian eyes, “no longer neutral”.
Yet Indonesia remains “a leading voice among Muslim-majority countries”, according to international-relations professor Nur Rachmat Yuliantoro of Gadjah Mada University, a legacy of its “resistance to colonialism, strong support for the Palestinian struggle” and a foreign policy rooted in independence rather than allegiance.
“Indonesia’s credibility and respect were not built overnight,” he said, adding that its “normative influence among Muslim countries remains palpable, even though its democracy is currently under threat and its economy is in chaos.”

Some analysts argue Indonesia’s membership of Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”, ostensibly created to secure lasting peace in Gaza, has undermined its reputation by association – even if it helped win Washington’s favour, however temporarily.
“A good relationship with the United States is undeniably necessary because we have strategic interests with them in various aspects, such as trade and investment,” Agung said. “The problem arises when we apply double standards regarding conflicts by, for example, being vocal about one conflict but silent about another.”
Others, such as Nur, say clarity of principle outweighs Indonesia’s diplomatic manoeuvring.
“In the context of relations with the Islamic world, what matters is not whether Jakarta is close to Washington or Beijing, but rather its firmness in upholding international law and unconditionally supporting the Palestinian cause,” he said.
“This is what Indonesia needs to maintain its credibility in the eyes of the world.”


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Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono (left) meets his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in Mashhad on July 10. Photo: X/Menlu_RI

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India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto shake hands after attending a joint press conference at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

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The perceived snub has raised questions about the core tensions at the heart of Jakarta’s ‘good-neighbour’ diplomacy


The perceived snub has raised questions about the core tensions at the heart of Jakarta’s ‘good-neighbour’ diplomacy.


Did fear of US force Indonesia’s ‘slap in the face’ to Iran?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The perceived snub has raised questions about the core tensions at the heart of Jakarta’s ‘good-neighbour’ diplomacy

The perceived snub has raised questions about the core tensions at the heart of Jakarta’s ‘good-neighbour’ diplomacy