Sri Lanka Rejected U.S. Arms-Loaded Planes Request and Now Holds 253 Iranian Navy Sailors From Torpedoed Warship in Protective Custody
7d
2
Sri Lanka rebuffed a U.S. request to station arms-loaded military planes on its territory ahead of Iranian airstrikes. Separately, Colombo is holding 253 Iranian navy sailors—including survivors of an Iranian warship torpedoed by a U.S. submarine—in “protective custody,” monitoring their physical and mental health while Iran has formally sought repatriation and Sri Lanka says its handling reflects an effort to preserve neutrality.