President Prabowo Subianto’s upcoming visit to Iran is a high-profile move symbolizing Indonesia’s strategic autonomy and commitment to an independent, active foreign policy, allowing Jakarta to engage all parties without taking sides in the US-Iran confrontation.

The visit presents both opportunities (facilitating dialogue, strengthening economic and energy ties, and demonstrating non-alignment) and risks (being perceived as favoring Iran, straining relations with the US/West, and potential secondary sanctions or regional instability).

To succeed, Indonesia should maintain a balanced approach, focus on non-controversial cooperation (humanitarian, cultural, compliant economic ties), ensure transparency, and integrate the visit into its broader foreign policy to reinforce its image as a responsible international actor.

Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto is set to pay a historic visit to Iran, a country that is currently locked in a confrontation with the United States. The high-profile visit will undoubtedly pose several challenges for Indonesia’s foreign policy. But it also presents the country with an opportunity to assert its independent foreign policy and to prove that it is a pragmatic and able international actor. So far, the relationship between Indonesia and Iran has been cordial but superficial. However, the upcoming visit of President Prabowo will undoubtedly elevate the relationship to a new level. So, the question on everyone’s lips is: how can Indonesia engage with Iran without compromising its broader international interests?

Indonesia and Iran have had a cordial but peripheral relationship thus far. For Jakarta, however, the inaugural visit by President Prabowo Subianto to Tehran carries significant symbolic value. The confrontation between Iran and the US on the global stage creates an........

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