Iranian Missile and Drone Strikes Shake Dubai and Gulf’s Safe-Haven Image

More than 100 people were injured and at least four were killed after Iran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Gulf cities, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

1. Dubai’s Image as Safe Haven Shattered:
The luxury hub of Dubai, long viewed as the Middle East’s safest city, was hit by Iranian missile and drone attacks, shaking investor and tourist confidence.

2. Regional Retaliation by Iran:
Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at fossil-fuel-rich Gulf nations in response to U.S. and Israeli strikes.

3. Countries Affected:
Attacks were reported across the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

4. Casualties and Injuries:

o At least four people were killed and more than 100 injured across the Gulf.

o Victims included foreign nationals from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Egypt, the Philippines, and others.

o Kuwait reported one death and over 30 injuries.

o Qatar reported at least 16 injuries.

5. Scale of Attack on UAE:
The Emirati defense ministry reported:

o 540 drones

o 165 ballistic missiles

o 2 cruise missiles
Most were intercepted, but 21 drones struck civilian targets.

6. Civilian Infrastructure Damaged:
Airports, hotels, and residential towers were hit.

o A projectile struck near the Fairmont hotel on Palm Jumeirah.

o The iconic Burj Al Arab facade caught fire after debris impact.

o Dubai International Airport sustained damage.

7. Economic Impact:

o Stock markets in Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Bahrain declined.

o Kuwait suspended trading.

o Regional airspace closures disrupted flights and tourism.

8. Strategic & Diplomatic Tensions:
Gulf states, including Oman (which had mediated U.S.-Iran talks), were unable to avoid becoming targets despite efforts at neutrality.

9. Iran’s Position:
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed Iran targeted military bases, alleging U.S. forces relocated to hotels.

10. Gulf’s Delicate Balancing Act:
Gulf leaders remain caught between reliance on the United States for security and attempts to maintain diplomatic engagement with Iran.

11. Resilience Amid Shock:
Despite the attacks, daily life partially continued in Dubai, with public events and tourism persisting, reflecting attempts to project stability.

Overall Assessment:

The attacks have severely dented the Gulf’s reputation as a zone of stability and safe investment. While casualties remain relatively limited, the psychological, economic, and geopolitical consequences are significant, with Gulf states facing heightened uncertainty about regional security and long-term stability.

[ABS News Service/02.03.2026]

The gleaming city of Dubai 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 an American and Israeli assault by launching hundreds of missiles and drones at the fossil-fuel rich countries of the Persian Gulf, home to several U.S. military bases.

In total, at least four people were killed and more than 100 others were injured in the attacks across the United Arab Emirates, 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 emirate’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 iconic skyscrapers.

“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-shape island when debris fell nearby.

As people heard the sound of missiles approaching, some of them panicked and tried to flee the island, Ms. Rayment said. “You realize 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 United Arab Emirates, the Emirati defense ministry said on Sunday. Most of those projectiles were intercepted, but 21 drones struck civilian targets, the ministry said.

Over the past few weeks, Gulf governments had publicly sought to avert a war between the United States and Iran, fearing that the fallout would extend to their own 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 on 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 Emirates 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 maneuvering 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 make up 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 Emirates were Pakistani, Nepali and Bangladeshi nationals. Those injured included Emirati, Egyptian, Filipino, Pakistani, Iranian and Indian citizens, the Emirati defense ministry said.

In Kuwait, as the country’s air defense systems took on 97 ballistic missiles and 283 drones, one person was killed and more than 30 were injured — all of them foreign nationals — the Kuwaiti authorities said on Sunday.

And at least 16 people were injured in Qatar, which hosts a major American air base, according to the country’s interior ministry.

In the island nation of Bahrain, home to a major U.S. 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 American 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 Times appeared to show a projectile landing close to the Fairmont hotel on Dubai’s man-made Palm Jumeirah island on Saturday, causing a large explosion. The hotel said in a statement that four people who were in a car park near the hotel had been injured.

David, a Dubai resident who lives near the hotel, was standing near his window when the impact shattered the glass, injuring him, he said. He sustained minor injuries but said he was in shock and “deeply traumatized.”

“Living in Palm Jumeirah, in one of the safest countries in the world, this was the last thing I ever expected,” said David, who works in advertising and spoke on condition that his full name be withheld in order to speak frankly.

Despite the shock, many people in Dubai tried to maintain a sense of normality. On Saturday evening, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the ruler of Dubai, was photographed attending a horse race.

And on Sunday, even as the sound of explosions echoed periodically, sunbathers headed to the beach and tourists snapped photos by the Burj al-Arab — a sail-shape hotel whose facade caught fire after it was hit by falling debris.

“I am not worried at all, our defense system is amazing,” one Emirati woman, Maha Gharib, said in an interview. “I have full confidence.”

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 U.S. security guarantees will hold in the next phase — when America pulls back, leaving them exposed to an unhinged Iran on their doorstep,” she said.