JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono called Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan by phone on Wednesday to discuss the escalating conflict in the Middle East and to reiterate Indonesia’s call for maximum restraint from all parties.

“I spoke with His Highness Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan,” Sugiono said in a statement posted to his official X account on Wednesday, March 4. “The Indonesian government conveyed its deep concern over the latest escalation of conflict occurring in the Middle East region.” 

Sugiono invoked the UN Charter and international law, saying no country's sovereignty or territorial integrity could be compromised. “I also conveyed Indonesia's continued support for de-escalation and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint,” he added.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry confirmed the call on its own X account, saying the two ministers had discussed the latest regional developments and ongoing efforts to reduce the conflict.

The call came six days after the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on Saturday February 28, targeting infrastructure across Tehran and other sites. 

The strikes killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and caused civilian casualties, and Iran subsequently retaliated with drone and missile attacks against Israel and US assets in several Gulf countries.

The Saudi call follows a separate call Sugiono made on March 2 to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in which Indonesia offered to facilitate dialogue or mediation to prevent further escalation and stop the loss of innocent lives. 

Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry had earlier announced on Saturday that President Prabowo Subianto was willing to fly to Tehran to conduct mediation if agreed upon by the parties to the conflict. 

But, former Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal called the proposal “highly unrealistic” on the ground that Washington’s ego makes third-party mediation implausible during active strikes. 

President Prabowo has also never met Iranian President Pezeshkian in 15 months in office, and meeting PM Benjamin Netanyahu would be “political suicide” for a president whose country has no diplomatic relations with Israel.