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

2026-03-25 - 09:04

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’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...