Dubai’s Stability Challenged: Iranian Airstrikes Disrupt Safe Haven Reputation

The United Arab Emirates has long promoted itself as a sun-drenched, secure, and tax-free haven for international visitors.

However, this peaceful reputation was dramatically disrupted on Saturday when Iranian missiles targeted Dubai. The attack ignited a luxury resort, posed a threat to the iconic Burj Khalifa, and resulted in one fatality along with seven injuries at Abu Dhabi’s airport.

In retaliation against a significant offensive by U.S. and Israeli forces, Iran has struck the UAE and its neighboring countries, introducing a wave of anxiety and disorder to a region that was, until recently, known for its stability.

Cinzia Bianco, a Persian Gulf specialist at the European Council on Foreign Relations, expressed on X that this scenario represents Dubai’s worst fear, as its identity hinges on being a secure sanctuary in a volatile area. She noted, “While resilience is possible, a return to the former status quo is unlikely.”

In response, authorities sought to calm both residents and tourists, emphasizing the UAE’s advanced air defense capabilities, which successfully intercepted incoming drones and missiles.

“I know it’s a scary time for a lot of the residents,” Reem Al Hashimy, minister of state for international cooperation, told CNN. “We don’t hear these types of loud sounds. But at the same time, those are sounds of interception. And where there has been damage — that has been primarily debris.”

Fallout from the attacks has undermined the Emirates’ efforts to de-escalate tensions with Iran despite longtime suspicions of its neighbor across the Gulf. The UAE closed its embassy in Tehran on Sunday.

The oil-rich federation of seven sheikhdoms has relied on its image as a place of serenity to lure wealthy tourists, businesspeople and future residents who want to live largely tax-free in luxury in the desert by the sea. Nearly 90% of the estimated 11 million residents are foreigners.

Real estate firms sell glimmering high-rises and poolside villas to rich Europeans and Americans by promoting a welcoming climate and business-friendly policies, and touting it as one of the safest places on earth.

Hundreds of drone and missile attacks later, though, that reputation has been rocked.

“Last night was pretty surreal,” said British racehorse trainer Jamie Osborne, who was in Dubai for the Emirates Super Saturday. “You’re standing in the paddock watching missiles get shot through the sky.”

The Ministry of Defense said Sunday that air defenses had dealt with 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and more than 540 Iranian drones over two days.

While officials said they intercepted all air attacks Saturday, debris from the knocked-down weapons sparked blazes at some of Dubai’s most iconic locations.

Social media videos and photos showed a fire outside the Fairmont hotel on the prestigious man-made Palm Jumeirah island, flames licked at the facade of the famous Burj Al Arab hotel, and smoke rose into the sky near Burj Khalifa, the 2,723-foot (830-meter) skyscraper.

There also was a fire at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the city’s main sea terminal and a major shipping hub, and the Dubai International Airport was damaged and four employees were injured, according to the Dubai Media Office.

Kristy Ellmer, who was on a business trip from New Hampshire, said she was staying away from the windows of her hotel but felt relatively safe despite the numerous blasts.

“You hear a lot of explosions at times, you know, there’s hundreds of them,” she said. “It’s unsettling. We’re not used to hearing bombs, right, or missiles.”

Louise Herrle, an American tourist whose flight home with her husband from Dubai was scrapped, said it was her third time trying to visit the area. Previous trips were canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.

With their current Abu Dhabi and Dubai tour over, she is less likely to return to the Emirates or the region.

“I would probably be inclined to avoid this part of the world when there’s increased tensions, it just explodes so quickly,” Herrle said.

Maybe, she said, “the universe was trying to tell us something.”

___

Associated Press journalists Julie Walker in New York and Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.