JAKARTA – Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry said on April 14 that it is closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East and that no Indonesian citizens have been affected by Iran’s first-ever attack on Israel.
This was based on information from the Indonesian embassy in the Jordanian capital of Amman, which gathered the responses of Indonesians living in Israel, the ministry said.
According to the embassy, 115 Indonesians live in Israel, most of whom reside in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Arava.
Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel late on April 13 in response to an April 1 air strike on an Iranian consular building in the Syrian capital of Damascus. Twelve people, including two senior generals in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, were among those killed in the attack.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry said it is closely monitoring any escalation in unrest that may develop following Iran’s assault on Israel.
It is also communicating and coordinating with the Indonesian embassies in Amman and Tehran, as well as other Indonesian representatives in the Middle East.
As many as 376 Indonesians live in Iran, and the majority of them are students based in the city of Qom.
On April 13, the Foreign Ministry warned Indonesian citizens to increase their vigilance and postpone travel to Iran and Israel.
The ministry’s director for citizen protection Judha Nugraha said every Indonesian representative had to draw up contingency plans to anticipate emergency situations involving its citizens.
The ministry has provided hotlines at Indonesian representatives in Tehran, Amman and Cairo for its citizens facing such situations.
Separately, the Iranian embassy in Jakarta said in a statement on April 14 that Iran’s military action against Israeli military bases was carried out “in exercise of its inherent right of self-defence”, as recognised under the United Nations Charter, against Israel’s recurring military aggressions.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s resort to defensive measures in the exercise of its right of self-defence demonstrates Iran’s responsible approach towards regional and international peace and security at a time when the occupying apartheid regime’s pattern of relentless genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people is accompanied with repeated military aggressions against neighbouring states and fanning the flames across the region and beyond,” it said.
The statement also said Iran “would not hesitate to take further necessary defensive measures to protect its legitimate interest against any act of military aggression or unlawful use of force”.
Israel has been launching attacks on Palestinian-ruled Gaza after the Hamas militant group’s unprecedented Oct 7 attack against Israel. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 33,634 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, said the territory’s Health Ministry.
