Minister Marsudi urges US to help de-escalate Iran-Israel tension

id middle east,indonesia,retno marsudi,iran israel conflict

Minister Marsudi urges US to help de-escalate Iran-Israel tension

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in a press statement after a limited meeting on the topic of Iran-Israel conflict in Jakarta on April 16, 2024.(ANTARA/Andi Firdaus)

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi called on the United States to help ease the Iran-Israel conflict that broke out after Tehran, on Saturday (April 13), retaliated against Tel Aviv's attack on its consulate office in Damascus.

In an effort to de-escalate the conflict in the Middle East region, Marsudi said she had called several of her counterparts, including US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell, on Tuesday morning local time.

"We know the US has a very big influence to make the de-escalation happen," she remarked after attending a limited meeting on the Iran-Israel conflict, at the Presidential Palace, here on Tuesday.

Hence, Marsudi urged Campbell to use the US' major influence in defusing conflicts in the Middle East so as not to further expand their impact. According to media report, the Israeli attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 killed at least 13 people, including seven Iranian military advisers.

The US, which is an ally of Israel, reaffirmed its commitment to Israel's security and underlined the need to de-escalate the conflict. Earlier, on Monday (April 15), Minister Marsudi called Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who she said has sound relations with Indonesia.

During their conversation that lasted about 50 minutes, she emphasized that escalation of the situation would benefit no one. Marsudi said she had also spoken to several countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, the Netherlands, and Germany, whom she considered to have an influence in this case, both on Iran and Israel.

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"Hence, we continue to carry out diplomatic efforts, so that de-escalation occurs," she remarked.

However, she emphasized that amid the diplomatic efforts, Indonesia does not plan to normalize relations with Israel.