I

ran is calling for dialogue rather than suppression and intimidation to solve global issues, visiting Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told a public lecture in Jakarta on Friday.

He said the fact that Iran was not seeking to build nuclear weapons had enabled a nuclear agreement to be reached easily in November 2013.

Zarif claimed that some people in the United States thought they could force Iran to abandon its peaceful nuclear program through suppression and intimidation.

'€œIf I were one of the Americans who has authority in Washington, I would not give the suggestion to suppress and intimidate Iran, because they could build the program underground,'€ he said at the lecture organized by the Indonesian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).

'€œI would suggest that Iran needs to have the nuclear program above ground, so it could be supervised by the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] .'€

Zarif said a zero-sum game no longer made sense as it would only bring negative results.

'€œEvery side involved in zero-sum game will suffer losses. Despite the value of losses being different, you cannot gain security by expanding other'€™s insecurity,'€ he said.

He said the US had the largest military budget, exceeding the combined budgets of the next 10 countries. With such a huge military, he said Americans should feel secure yet they don'€™t.

He claimed to see insecurity in the faces of New Yorkers when he stayed there.

Commenting on the Syrian crisis, Zarif said it was not about Sunni-Shia disputes.

'€œThe way out of the crisis and tragedy cannot be a military solution. It has to be a political solution. They need to find an acceptable framework to work together,'€ he said.

As for Iran-Indonesia bilateral relations, he said Iran considered Indonesia a friend.

'€œWe are already prepared to engage Indonesia in finance, trade, oil, technology and also scientific research fields. There is no shedding in our relationship, whatsoever.'€

Later in the afternoon, Zarif met President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono who was accompanied by Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa.

Yudhoyono conveyed an invitation for Iran President Hassan Rohani to visit Indonesia, Antara news agency reported.

Various global issues were discussed at the meeting, particularly conflict resolution for Syria. Both Indonesia and Iran agreed the conflict should be settled through diplomacy.

Marty was concerned that the crisis could spark a rise in extremism worldwide.

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.