The United Arab Emirates has offered itself to foreigners for years as a sunny, protected, tax-free oasis.
That peaceable picture was shattered Saturday (February 28, 2026) as Iranian weaponry rained down on Dubai, setting hearth to a five-star resort, threatening the world’s tallest constructing, and killing one individual and injuring seven others on the airport within the capital metropolis of Abu Dhabi.
Iran-Israel battle updates on March 2, 2026
Iran has hit the UAE and a number of other of its neighbors because it strikes again from the most important assault by U.S. and Israeli forces, inflicting worry and chaos in a spot that till Saturday (February 28, 2026) was predictably calm.
Smoke rises after an Iranian drone assault within the port space of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on March 1, 2026.
| Photograph Credit score:
AP
“That is Dubai’s final nightmare, as its very essence trusted being a protected oasis in a troubled area,” Cinzia Bianco, an professional on the Persian Gulf on the European Council on International Relations wrote on X. “There is perhaps a approach to be resilient, however there is no such thing as a going again.”
Officers tried to reassure residents and guests that the nation’s air protection system was among the many finest on this planet, blasting down drones and missiles.
“I do know it’s a scary time for lots of the residents,” Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for Worldwide Cooperation, instructed CNN. “We don’t hear a majority of these loud sounds. However on the identical time, these are sounds of interception. And the place there was injury — that has been primarily particles.”
Broken Fairmont The Palm constructing after an Iranian assault, following United States and Israel strikes on Iran, in Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on March 1, 2026.
| Photograph Credit score:
Reuters
Fallout from the assaults has undermined the Emirates’ efforts to de-escalate tensions with Iran regardless of longtime suspicions of its neighbor throughout the Gulf. The UAE closed its airspace Saturday (February 28, 2026), shuttered its embassy in Tehran on Sunday (March 1, 2026), and withdrew its diplomats due to the assaults.
“This resolution displays its agency and unwavering place towards any aggression that threatens its safety and sovereignty,” the International Ministry mentioned in an announcement. It known as the assaults an “aggressive and provocative method” that threatens the area.
The oil-rich federation of seven sheikhdoms has relied on its picture as a spot of serenity to lure rich vacationers, businesspeople and future residents who need to dwell largely tax-free in luxurious within the desert by the ocean. Almost 90% of the estimated 11 million residents are foreigners.
Actual property companies promote glimmering high-rises and poolside villas to wealthy Europeans and People by selling a welcoming local weather and business-friendly insurance policies, and touting it as one of many most secure locations on earth.
A whole bunch of drone and missile assaults later, although, that status has been rocked.
A satellite tv for pc picture of Jebel Ali Port, after one of many berths caught hearth due to particles from an intercepted missile, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on March 1, 2026. Photograph: 2026 Planet Labs PBC/Handout by way of Reuters
“Final night time was fairly surreal,” mentioned British racehorse coach Jamie Osborne, who was in Dubai for the Emirates Tremendous Saturday (February 28, 2026). “You’re standing within the paddock watching missiles get shot by the sky.”
The Ministry of Protection mentioned Sunday (March 1, 2026) that air defenses had handled 165 ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and greater than 540 Iranian drones over two days.
Whereas officers mentioned they intercepted all air assaults Saturday, particles from the knocked-down weapons sparked blazes at a few of Dubai’s most iconic areas.
Social media movies and pictures confirmed a hearth outdoors the Fairmont lodge on the celebrated man-made Palm Jumeirah island, flames licked on the facade of the well-known Burj Al Arab lodge, and smoke rose into the sky close to Burj Khalifa, the two,723-foot (830-meter) skyscraper.
There additionally was a hearth at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the town’s predominant sea terminal and a significant delivery hub, and the Dubai Worldwide Airport was broken and 4 staff had been injured, in response to the Dubai Media Workplace.
Kristy Ellmer, who was on a enterprise journey from New Hampshire, mentioned she was staying away from the home windows of her lodge however felt comparatively protected regardless of the quite a few blasts.
“You hear a whole lot of explosions at instances, , there’s lots of of them,” she mentioned. “It’s unsettling. We’re not used to listening to bombs, proper, or missiles.”
Louise Herrle, an American vacationer whose flight dwelling along with her husband from Dubai was scrapped, mentioned it was her third time attempting to go to the realm. Earlier journeys had been canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hamas assault on Israel in October 2023.
With their present Abu Dhabi and Dubai tour over, she is much less prone to return to the Emirates or the area.
“I’d most likely be inclined to keep away from this a part of the world when there’s elevated tensions, it simply explodes so shortly,” Herrle mentioned.
Possibly, she mentioned, “the universe was attempting to inform us one thing.”
Revealed – March 02, 2026 10:59 am IST