On February 28, when the military attacks of Israel and US began on Iran, it sent fear among those in Colombo. For the people of this island nation who have overcome the long, serpentine queues in front of fuel stations and empty supermarket shelves, a war in west Asia translates directly into economic trouble at home.
The fear doubled in the streets of Colombo on March 4, when an American submarine torpedoed the Iranian ship IRIS Dena. The next day, when the Sri Lankan government docked the second ship in the Trincomalee Port and evacuated the crew, it set off a political debate in the Sri Lankan parliament.
In a televised address on Thursday, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake declared: “ No person should die in a war like this. Every life is equally precious. We are not taking sides, but while maintaining our neutrality, we are taking action to save lives.”
Like the IRIS Dena, torpedoed by America, the second vessel, IRIS Bushehr, which had been part of the same Iranian naval contingent at the MILAN 2026 naval exercise—is a logistics replenishment ship.
Dissanayake also revealed that on February 26, the government of Iran had formally requested permission from Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for three Iranian naval vessels to enter Sri Lankan ports between March 9 and 13.
According to him, Sri Lanka had not yet granted approval to the ships on those dates and that the request was presented as a goodwill visit and a tour meant to enhance cooperation.
He had noted that genuine goodwill visits required extensive procedural arrangements, and when Sri Lanka reviewed the situation, it found that the vessels had stayed just beyond Sri Lanka’s national maritime boundary, although close to it.
“A goodwill visit does not occur in such a manner,” Dissanayake pointed out in his televised address.
While Sri Lanka’s decision on the IRIS Bushehr is termed by a few stakeholders as a courageous act against American and Israeli pressure, in reality, the island nation limited the rescue efforts to humanitarian aid and evacuation of the crew to safety.
There was no open port welcome and the second ship was not allowed to dock for a long time since the government did not want to antagonise America. However, the attack by America and the Sri Lankan government allowing the second ship to be docked at the Trincomalee Port for disembarking have sparked intense political debate in Sri Lanka.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa declared that military action within Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone raises serious questions about national sovereignty.
“If a submarine had entered our waters 40 nautical miles from Sri Lanka, did we not have the technology to detect it? Do we not have surface radars? Sonobuoys or underwater sonar networks? Do we not have towed sonars or satellite surveillance? At a time when our national security was at its highest level, a submarine entered our Exclusive Economic Zone and carried out an attack. This alone shows the level of our national security,” Premadasa said in the parliament.
“The Exclusive Economic Zone is meant for economic activities, not military operations,” he added.
Former MP Wimal Weerawansa questioned whether US pressure influenced the government’s handling of Iranian naval vessels near Sri Lanka. He also alleged that the American officials had pressured the authorities to not allow an Iranian ship to dock in Colombo, though the government has not confirmed these claims.
For Sri Lanka, which maintains diplomatic ties with both America and Iran for over many decades, the conflict has forced a perilous neutral stance.
Sri Lanka hoped the neutral stance would satisfy both sides, but it has only invited the wrath of both nations.
Inviting the wrath or any disturbance in the relationships with both Tehran and Washington will only add more difficulties to Sri Lanka, as it has the majority of its diaspora in these two countries. On the other hand, any regional volatility can blow up Sri Lanka’s economy, which is slowly recovering from the rippling effect caused by the national crisis a few years ago.