The gleaming city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, had long been the safest haven in a volatile Middle East, offering a life of luxury to Iranian businesspeople, American celebrities and Russian oligarchs alike.
That image was irrevocably shaken this weekend, when Iran responded to a US and Israeli assault by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at the fossil-fuel-rich countries of the Gulf, home to several US military bases.
In total, at least four people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in the attacks across the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, according to official reports tallied by The New York Times.
Many of the most shocking episodes played out in Dubai, the largest Emirati city and the business and tourism capital of the Middle East. Five-star hotels caught fire, explosions shattered the windows of apartment towers, and the UAE’s bustling international airport was damaged, injuring four people. Social media influencers and terrified migrant workers shared videos of fiery projectiles in the night sky, streaking past the city’s skyscrapers.
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“You never expect to hear missiles flying over your head in a city like Dubai,” said Elizabeth Rayment, a consultant who was in her car on Dubai’s famous palm tree-shaped island when debris fell nearby.
As people heard the sound of missiles approaching, some of them panicked and tried to flee the island, said Rayment. “You realise how fragile routine really is, and how quickly even the most stable places can feel uncertain.”
More than 540 drones, 165 ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles targeted the UAE, said the Emirati defence ministry on Sunday. Most of those projectiles were intercepted, but 21 drones struck civilian targets, said the ministry.
Over the past few weeks, Gulf administrations have publicly sought to avert a war between the United States and Iran, fearing that the fallout would extend to their countries. Their economic models hinge on regional stability – and the ability to offer a safe foothold in the Middle East to investors and tourists.
Stock markets in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain fell Sunday, while Kuwait suspended trading, reflecting the uncertainty that local businesses are facing. Airspace across much of the region was shuttered, trapping tourists and grounding planes.
Dubai in particular has long cultivated close ties with Iran, partly in an effort to maintain its safe-haven status. The UAE is one of Iran’s largest trading partners.
“There was nothing that they valued more than that perception of safety – and they prided themselves on manoeuvring politically and hedging to be basically on the good books of everyone,” said Cinzia Bianco, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who focuses on the Gulf.
In the end, not a single Gulf country was spared. Even Oman – where officials had mediated talks between Iran and the United States to try to avert a war – said that it had been attacked.
Foreign workers, who comprise a large proportion of the population in the Gulf countries, appeared to be among the most affected. The three people who were killed in the UAE were Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi nationals. Those injured included Emirati, Egyptian, Filipino, Pakistani, Iranian and Indian citizens, said the Emirati defence ministry.
In Kuwait, as the country’s air defence systems took on 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones, one person was killed, and more than 30 were injured – all of them foreign nationals – said Kuwaiti authorities.
Moreover, at least 16 people were injured in Qatar, which hosts a big US airbase, according to the country’s interior ministry.
In the island nation of Bahrain, home to a US naval base, the government said that “several residential buildings” in the capital of Manama had been targeted, as well as the Crowne Plaza hotel.
Many of the attacks damaged civilian infrastructure, including airports, hotels and residential buildings.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite channel, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran had started “by attacking the enemy’s military bases in the region” but claimed that US soldiers had then “fled to hotels.”
“We have made efforts to target only military personnel and facilities that assist them in operations against Iran,” he said.
Videos verified by The New York Times appeared to show a projectile landing close to the Fairmont hotel on Dubai’s human-made Palm Jumeirah island Saturday, causing a large explosion. The hotel said that four people who were in a car park near the hotel had been injured.
Bader Al-Saif, an assistant professor at Kuwait University, said that while the attacks had shaken the Gulf’s image as “the last bastion of stability in the Middle East”, they did not upend it
“Two days into the war, the Gulf states have been able to defend themselves, and the damage and casualties are extremely low,” he said.
Still, the war has left Gulf leaders pinned between the United States – their primary security guarantor – and Iran. While most of the Gulf governments are wary of Iran, they have all tried to de-escalate tensions with the country and engage it diplomatically in recent years.
Yasmine Farouk, director of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula project for the International Crisis Group, said that Gulf governments are treading carefully as they try to anticipate what is to come.
“Gulf countries cannot know how far US security guarantees will hold in the next phase – when America pulls back, leaving them exposed to an unhinged Iran on their doorstep,” she said. – This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
