{"id":30807,"date":"2026-03-22T03:39:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T03:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=30807"},"modified":"2026-03-22T03:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T03:39:52","slug":"sri-lanka-says-it-denied-the-us-request-to-land-two-aircraft-at-mattala-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=30807","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka says it denied the US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake says the request was made on February 26, two days before US and Israel launched a war on Iran.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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‘We turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka’s neutrality,’ says President Anura Kumara Dissanayake [File: Omer Messinger\/Getty Images]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Sri Lanka\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President\u00a0Anura Kumara Dissanayake<\/a>\u00a0told Sri Lanka\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The request was made on February 26, two days before the US and Israel launched their military offensive against Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey wanted to bring two warplanes armed with eight antiship missiles from a base in Djibouti\u201d, Dissanayake told lawmakers. \u201cWe turned down the request to maintain Sri Lanka\u2019s neutrality\u201d, he added to applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US President Donald Trump has also been pressuring Washington\u2019s allies to show more support for the war, slamming NATO countries<\/a> as \u201ccowards\u201d for refusing to help secure the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iran has essentially shuttered the critical Gulf waterway<\/a> amid the war, forcing leaders around the world to scramble to try to offset the effects on their economies and energy supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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