Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says request made on February 26, two days before US and Israel launched war on Iran.Sri Lanka’s president says his government turned down a request from the United States to land two US combat aircraft at a civilian airport earlier this month.President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Sri Lanka’s parliament on Friday that Washington had requested permission for the aircraft to land at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4 to 8.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Switzerland halts US arms exports amid Iran war, citing neutralitylist 2 of 3Could Iran war trigger the next global food shock?list 3 of 3Iran: From Khamenei to Khameneiend of listThe request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran.“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti”, Dissanayake told lawmakers. “We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality”, he added to applause.The Iran" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38342" data-entity-type="event">US-Israeli war on Iran has sparked widespread concern globally, as Iranian missile and drone attacks across the wider Middle East have sent energy prices soaring and fuelled fears of a widening conflict.US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Washington’s allies to show more support for the war, slamming NATO countries as “cowards” for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.Iran has essentially shuttered the critical Gulf waterway amid the war, forcing leaders around the world to scramble to try to offset the effects on their economies and energy supplies.Amid the turmoil, many countries have refused to get directly involved in the war while calling for urgent de-escalation.On Friday, Switzerland announced that it would halt any weapons exports to the US that could be used in military operations against Iran, citing its longstanding policy of neutrality.