Indonesia Asks The UN Security Council To Hold A Special Meeting To Relieve The Situation In The Middle East

Roy Soemirat. (Indonesian/Abi Foreign Ministry)

JAKARTA - Indonesia is concerned about the development of the situation in the Middle East, asking the UN Security Council to hold a special meeting, in order to ease tensions that occur.

Israel's move earlier this week announced it had launched a limited ground attack on southern Lebanon, raising tensions with the Hezbollah militant group that has been going on for the past year.

Tuesday night, Iran launched hundreds of missiles into Israeli territory, which Israeli officials responded with a firm promise to retaliate against the move.

"Indonesia is very worried about the latest developments currently occurring in the Middle East region, and urges all parties to exercise restraint," said Spokesperson for 2 Indonesian Foreign Ministries Rolliansyah Soemirat in a short message to reporters, Wednesday, October 2.

Roy said, Indonesia, as stated by the Secretary General of the United Nations, is very worried that a greater scale of war could occur.

"Indonesia has again emphasized the importance of the UN Security Council to immediately hold a special meeting, to discuss the latest developments in the Middle East and make decisions that can immediately reduce tensions in the region," he explained.

He added that the safety of Indonesian citizens also continues to be the main concern of the Indonesian government. Regarding this, Roy said the process of evacuating Indonesian citizens from Lebanon is also ongoing.

"All Indonesian Embassys in the region also continue to coordinate and continue to communicate with all Indonesian citizens in their respective regions," concluded Roy.

It is known that the situation on the Lebanese border and Iran's missile attacks on Israel raised fears of an escalating escalation in the Middle East and expanding the conflict in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly warned that the launch of 181 ballistic missiles by Iran was a grave mistake and would not allow it.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned what he called escalation after continued escalation.

"This must be stopped. We really need a ceasefire," he said, quoted by Reuters.