Sri Lanka claims to have declined permission for two US aircraft to land at a civilian airport in the country’s south in March, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Friday.
The request was declined to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality and ensure its territory was not used for any military purpose that could help or hinder either side, Dissanayake told parliament.
Colombo was drawn into the conflict when a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian frigate off its coast in March.
“They wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight anti-ship missiles from a base in Djibouti to Mattala International Airport from March 4 to 8, and we said ‘no’,” Dissanayake said.
Several US aircraft are armed with advanced anti-ship missiles, primarily focusing on the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) and the Harpoon missile. The fighters include the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the F-35 Lightning II.
Beyond fighters, the B-1B Lancer bomber was among the first platforms to achieve initial operational capability with the LRASM, which can carry up to 24 missiles for high-volume attacks against naval targets.
Dissanayake said Washington made the request on February 26. Iran made a similar request on the same day for three of its warships, which had returned from India after a naval exercise, to make a port call.
“We were still considering the Iranian request to bring the three ships to Colombo from March 9 to 13. Had we said ‘yes’ to Iran, we would have had to say ‘yes’ to the US too,” he said.
“But we didn’t. We are steadfastly maintaining our position of neutrality,” he added, drawing applause from the 225-member legislature.
The US torpedoed one of the Iranian ships, IRIS Dena, just off the island’s southern coast on March 4, killing at least 84 sailors. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 survivors.
Later, Sri Lanka repatriated the remains of 84 sailors. An Airbus A340 chartered by Iran “left a short while ago carrying the remains of the sailors,” an airport official at Mattala International Airport in the island’s south told AFP by telephone.
“The departure was delayed because 84 sealed boxes had to be loaded,” added the official who requested anonymity.
The destination of the flight was not disclosed.
The 32 sailors rescued are in Sri Lanka for the time being, the Foreign Ministry said. Of them, 22 have been discharged from the hospital and are being held at an air force base in the south of the island.
A second Iranian warship, the IRIS Bushehr, was allowed into Sri Lankan waters a day after Dena was sunk. Sri Lanka is providing a safe harbour for the ship and its crew of 219.
Sri Lankan officials said they have not begun discussions on repatriating the Bushehr crew and those rescued from the Dena, but vowed that the sailors will be treated in line with Colombo’s international obligations.
Crewmembers from the Bushehr are held at a navy camp just north of Colombo, while their ship has been taken over by Sri Lanka’s navy, which is trying to repair one of the two reportedly malfunctioning engines.
A third Iranian ship, IRIS Lavan, sailed past Sri Lanka and entered safe harbour in India’s southern port of Kochi on the same day the Dena was sunk. Lavan’s 183 crewmembers are in Indian custody.
Both Colombo and New Delhi have said they provided shelter to the Iranian sailors due to “humanitarian considerations” amid fears that they too could be killed in US attacks.
The ships had been taking part in a naval exercise organised by India off the coast of Visakhapatnam when the US and Israel began bombing Iran.
A local undertaker said the embalmed remains of the Iranian sailors were being sent back in sealed boxes.
The bodies, which were plucked from the Indian Ocean, were taken to Karapitiya Hospital in Galle, 115 kilometres (72 miles) south of the capital, where autopsies were carried out.
A local magistrate ordered that the bodies be handed over to the Iranian embassy in Colombo for repatriation to the next of kin.
By Agence France-Presse (AFP) with ET Inputs
