His name is Mohamed and he is Canadian of Syrian origin, with family in Dubai. There he was “caught” by to Iran visiting his brother, who lives in the city of the United Arab Emirates. He HuffPost has been able to speak with him exclusively and he told us: “I saw two missiles over my head” and “they just intercepted my brother’s house.”
“I’m in the middle of the action”he summarized as soon as I started talking to him. He has been in Dubai for almost three weeks to visit his brother, but he does not know when he will be able to leave, because “all flights are cancelled”, although a few hours ago the airport was reopened to traffic, although with restrictions.
Dubía has been one more destination that adds to the interruptions and alterations in air traffic that have occurred in different parts of the Gulf after the exchanges of attacks between Iran and US forces in the region.
Despite the shock of having experienced attacks firsthand and right in the area where his family lives, he is also seeing how the rich Emirati city is well protected: “The interception worked”he tells us calmly, although he recognizes that they are more dangerous “the new drones used in Syria that fly low”, that have caused “damage to some hotel”.
Tranquility and optimism within tension
His tranquility and optimism have another root, after speaking with residents and influencers who live there: According to what they have told him, Iran has no intention of attacking neighboring countries, but rather “attacking American bases” because “they are in the region that they are using to attack Iran.”
There is a large base in Abu Dhabi, in Qatar, but Dubai has no American military bases. That’s why They believe that “we are going to have peace, we are not going to have problems”. Other analysts cited by BBC y The Great Continent They are not so optimistic. They emphasize that the Emirates pays the price for its close military alliance with the United States, since it houses the Al Dhafra Air Base and other key infrastructure used by US forces.
An Iranian military spokesman warned that “helping Israel will be our objective”including facilities in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
However, as Mohamed points out, Dubai does not host US military bases, although they do exist. important facilities elsewhere in the Gulfas we have seen. That difference is key to the difference between residents.
The situation remains volatile and dependent on the evolution of events in the region. The feeling it conveys is ambivalent: on the one hand, confidence that Dubai is not a priority objective; on the other, the direct experience of having seen missiles intercepted over his own head.
Meanwhile, two days in which Many Dubai residents have stayed mostly indoors, with sirens, distant explosions and shelter in basements while interceptions sounded in the sky.
This has been the attacks by Iran in the Emirates
Iran launched on Sunday 137 missiles and 209 drones against the Emirateswith an official toll of three dead and 58 injured, plus another who died the day before in Abu Dhabi due to the interception of missiles, as published The Country.
The Emirati Ministry of Defense speaks of more than 540 drones and 165 ballistic missiles and cruise ships directed against its territory, most of which were shot down by systems such as Patriot y THAAD.
Damage to civil infrastructure was reported in different media:
- He Burj Al Arab luxury hotel suffered an impact and a controlled fire after the evacuation of the building.
- They registered explosions on the artificial island Palm Jumeirahwith columns of smoke and material damage; The area is residential and tourist, with no known military installations.
- A drone reached Dubai airport facilities and forced the temporary closure of the airport and the diversion of flights, generating air chaos and thousands of stranded passengers.
In Abu Dhabi, for its part, several missiles damaged terminals at Zayed International Airport, leaving at least one dead and several injured, and other impacts partially destroyed energy and logistics infrastructure, according to Euronews.
