On February 28, when US and Israeli military strikes on Iran began, Colombo felt anxious. For Sri Lankans still coping with long fuel queues and empty supermarket shelves, conflict in West Asia quickly translates into domestic economic pain.
Tensions rose on March 4 after an American submarine torpedoed the Iranian vessel IRIS Dena. The following day, when Sri Lankan authorities allowed a second Iranian ship, IRIS Bushehr, to be brought into Trincomalee Port and evacuated its crew, it provoked a heated debate in parliament.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake defended the move, saying no one should die and that Sri Lanka was acting to save lives while maintaining neutrality. Like the Dena, the Bushehr is a logistics replenishment ship that had been part of the same Iranian contingent at the MILAN 2026 naval exercise.
Dissanayake said Iran had formally requested on February 26 that three naval vessels be allowed into Sri Lankan ports between March 9 and 13. Sri Lanka had not approved those dates, he added, and treated the request as a proposed goodwill visit—which, he argued, requires full procedural clearance. When officials reviewed the situation, they found the vessels had remained just outside the nation’s maritime boundary. “A goodwill visit does not occur in such a manner,” he said.
In practice, Colombo confined its response to humanitarian assistance and evacuating crew members. The government avoided an open welcome and delayed docking to avoid antagonising the United States. Still, permitting the Bushehr to come alongside long enough to disembark crew sparked political criticism.
Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said an attack by a submarine inside Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone raised serious sovereignty and security questions. He asked why Sri Lankan systems had failed to detect a submarine 40 nautical miles from shore, questioning the state of radar, sonobuoy, towed sonar and satellite surveillance capabilities. “The Exclusive Economic Zone is meant for economic activities, not military operations,” he said.
Former MP Wimal Weerawansa alleged US pressure influenced how the government handled the Iranian vessels, claiming American officials urged authorities not to allow docking—an allegation the government has not confirmed.
Sri Lanka, which maintains diplomatic relations with both Washington and Tehran, has found neutrality difficult to sustain. Trying to placate both sides has risked displeasing each, with potential repercussions for its diaspora in those countries and for an economy still recovering from recent crises.
