Sri Lanka’s refusal to host US warplanes before Iran war risks trade backlash

Two days before the United States and Israel launched their war on Iran, Washington asked Sri Lanka to let two armed warplanes use an airport on its southern coast.Colombo said no, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently revealed – a decision analysts said reflected the Indian Ocean island nation’s desire to avoid being drawn into a foreign conflict from which it had “nothing to gain”.The request, made on February 26, reportedly sought to relocate two aircraft from a US base in Djibouti to Mattala International Airport from March 4 to 8.“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight anti-ship missiles,” Dissanayake said. “We said ‘no’.”A Sri Lankan naval vessel approaches the Iranian vessel IRIS Bushehr on March 5, a day after the Iranian military ship IRIS Dena was torpedoed off the island’s coast. Photo: Sri Lanka Navy/ReutersSri Lanka’s refusal did not keep the war at arm’s length for long. On March 4, a US submarine torpedoed Iranian frigate IRIS Dena just off the island’s coast.Colombo also turned away three Iranian naval vessels that requested a port call from March 9 to 13, upon returning from exercises in India.