Sri Lanka says ‘no’ to ground access for US warplanes as Middle East tensions rise

COLOMBO, - Sri Lanka declined permission for two U.S. combat aircraft to land at a civilian airport earlier this month, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told parliament on Friday.

The U.S. had requested permission for the two aircraft to land at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in the southern part of the country ‌from March ⁠4-8, Dissanayake ⁠told lawmakers.

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"They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight anti-ship missiles from a ​base in Djibouti," he said during a statement.

"We turned down the request to maintain ​Sri Lanka's neutrality," he added to applause from parliamentarians.

The U.S. had made the request on February 26. The same day Iran requested three of its ships to make a goodwill visit to ⁠Sri Lanka ‌from March 9-13 after participating in an Indian naval exercise. That request was also denied.

The U.S. and Israel launched attacks ⁠on Iran on February 28, leading to a regional ​war that has severely restricted energy supplies and ​rattled markets.

"We were considering this request. Had we said 'yes' to Iran, we would have had to say 'yes' to the U.S. as well," he added.

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Sri Lanka's navy rescued 32 Iranian crew off IRIS Dena on March 4 after it was torpedoed by a U.S. submarine, in an attack that ‌killed at least 84.

A second ship, IRIS Booshehr, and its crew were rescued by the Sri Lankan navy after ​it developed ​technical issues just beyond ⁠the island nation's territorial waters.

U.S. Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor is currently visiting Sri Lanka and met Dissanayake on Thursday.

Sri ​Lanka, which is recovering from a severe financial crisis that peaked in 2022 and was caused by a shortfall of dollars, faces a supply squeeze linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The U.S. is Sri Lanka's largest export market while Iran is one of its key tea buyers.