JAKARTA/WASHINGTON, March 6 (Reuters) - Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto said he will withdraw from U.S. President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" if it does not benefit Palestinians, according to a government statement on Friday, after the Iran war deepened doubts over his country's involvement.
Prabowo, who leads the world's largest Muslim-majority nation, had come under criticism from domestic Muslim groups for agreeing to join the board and provide troops to a Gaza stabilization force, under a Trump-brokered ceasefire deal that ended the two-year Israel-Hamas war.
A U.S. official on Friday confirmed that the security situation in the Middle East could affect the timing of deployments to the international stabilization force, which was authorized by the U.N. Security Council with Indonesia as a leading contributor.
"While some ISF deployment timelines may shift due to the situation on the ground, discussions with our Indonesian partners continue," a Trump administration official told Reuters when asked about doubts over Indonesia's role.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono said on Tuesday that all discussions about the Board of Peace, which will oversee the creation of the stabilization force, had been halted due to the Iran war.
Prabowo gathered leaders of local Islamic groups for a meeting on Thursday evening where he reiterated his reasoning behind joining the board, according to a statement put out by the government communication office.
Prabowo will withdraw from the board if it does not benefit Palestinian and Indonesian interests, the statement quoted Hanif Alatas of the Islamic Brotherhood Front as saying.
"The president said that if he sees that there is no longer any benefit for Palestine ... and that it is not in line with Indonesia's national interests, he will withdraw," Hanif said in the statement.
The U.S. commander of the stabilization force, which is meant to help rebuild the Palestinian territory, said last month that his deputy would be Indonesian.
The Indonesian Ulema Council, a leading clerical body, had previously called for Indonesia to exit the board due to the U.S. role in the Iran war. Critics have said Indonesia's participation also compromises its long-standing support for the Palestinian cause.
Nahdlatul Ulama, the country's largest Muslim group, said Indonesia's government could use its role on the board to encourage de-escalation in the Middle East.
"Indonesia could declare that the (board's) agenda is on hold until there are talks on de-escalation and peace from the American-Israeli war against Iran," the group's chief, Yahya Cholil Staquf, said in a statement issued by Prabowo's office late on Thursday.
(Reporting by Stanley Widianto, Stefanno Sulaiman and Simon Lewis; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Edmund Klamann)
