Prabowo ‘surprised’ by Iran war, says US bombing won’t spark regime change

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said he was “pretty surprised” by the US-Israel war on Iran

, adding that he did not see any “rationality” in the military campaign.

“We are all confused,” Prabowo, 74, said of the war. “And I’m saddened. I don’t feel there’s any rationality in this.”

Prabowo, who has offered himself as a mediator, has faced criticism within Indonesia

for joining US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace”. The Indonesian leader said a plan to send peacekeeping troops to Gaza was now on hold.

“Every policy will have pros and cons,” Prabowo said on Saturday, referring to the board. “If we are inside BOP, we can still influence and work towards a lasting solution, which in our view is an independent Palestine – a two-state solution,” he added.

Prabowo also questioned whether the US strategy of bombing Iran would be able to lead to regime change.

“It’s very difficult to conduct these operations just purely from the air,” he said, adding it would take “indiscriminate bombing” to achieve their goals.