the United Arab Emirates It has sold itself to foreigners for years as a sunny, safe, tax-free oasis.
That peaceful image was shattered Saturday Iranian weapons Rain fell on Dubai, setting fire to a five-star resort, threatening the tallest building in the world, and causing the death of one person and injury of seven others at the airport in the capital, Abu Dhabi.
Iran It hit the United Arab Emirates And many of her neighbors during her response from A major attack by American and Israeli forcesCausing fear and chaos in a place that had been quiet until Saturday.
“This is the ultimate nightmare for Dubai, whose very essence depends on being a safe oasis in a turbulent region,” Cinzia Bianco, an expert on the Persian Gulf at the European Council on Foreign Relations, wrote on X. “There may be a way to be flexible, but there is no going back.”
Officials tried to reassure residents and visitors that the country’s air defense system was among the best in the world, shooting down drones and missiles.
“I know this is a scary time for many residents,” Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation, told CNN. “We don’t hear those kind of loud noises. But at the same time, these are objectionable noises. Where there was damage, it was primarily debris.”
The fallout from the attacks has undermined the UAE’s efforts to calm tensions with Iran despite long-standing suspicions about its neighbor across the Gulf. The UAE closed its airspace on Saturday, closed its embassy in Tehran on Sunday, and withdrew its diplomats due to the attacks.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that this decision reflects its firm and steadfast position against any aggression that threatens its security and sovereignty. She described the attacks as an “aggressive and provocative approach” that threatens the region.
The oil-rich federation of seven sheikhdoms has relied on its image as a place of tranquility to attract wealthy tourists, businessmen and future residents who want to live largely tax-free in luxury in the desert by the sea. Nearly 90% of the population of 11 million are foreigners.
Real estate companies sell high-rise buildings and pool villas to wealthy Europeans and Americans by touting a welcoming climate and business-friendly policies, promoting it as one of the safest places on Earth.
However, this reputation has been shaken after hundreds of drone and missile attacks.
“Last night was absolutely surreal,” said British racehorse trainer Jimmy Osborne, who was in Dubai for the Emirates Super Saturday. “You’re standing in the ring watching the missiles being launched into the sky.”
The Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that air defenses responded to 165 ballistic and cruise missiles and more than 540 Iranian drones within two days.
While officials said they intercepted all air attacks on Saturday, debris from dropped weapons sparked fires in some of Dubai’s most popular locations.
Videos and photos on social media showed a fire outside the Fairmont Hotel on the prestigious Palm Jumeirah island, flames engulfing the facade of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel, and smoke billowing into the sky near Burj Khalifa, the 2,723-foot (830-meter) skyscraper.
A fire also broke out in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the city’s main maritime terminal and a major shipping hub, and Dubai International Airport was damaged and four employees were injured, according to the Dubai Media Office.
Christy Elmer, 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 explosions.
“You hear a lot of explosions sometimes, you know, there are hundreds of them,” she said. “It’s worrying. We’re not used to hearing the sounds of bombs or missiles.”
Louise Hurley, an American tourist whose flight home with her husband from Dubai was cancelled, said it was her third time trying to visit the region. Previous trips were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023.
With their current tour ending in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, it is unlikely that they will return to the UAE or the region.
“I probably tend to avoid this part of the world when there are rising tensions, they explode very quickly,” Herle said.
Maybe, she said, “the universe was trying to tell us something.”
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Associated Press journalists Julie Walker in New York and Mark Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.