An Iranian missile struck the Fairmont Hotel in Dubai's Palm Jumeirah on Saturday, setting the five-star hotel alight and injuring four people, as the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran rapidly expanded across the Middle East. Social media videos showed fires near the hotel entrance, with residents watching in shock.
Dubai authorities later reported that debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire at the Burj Al Arab hotel and minor damage at Dubai International Airport. In Abu Dhabi, an incident at Zayed International Airport resulted in one fatality and seven injuries, according to a now-deleted post from Abu Dhabi Airports. The Dubai media office stated that civil defence teams brought the situation under control and no injuries were reported from the airport incident.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Iranian attacks targeted multiple countries. In Bahrain, an Iranian drone struck a high-rise building, causing a fire, while the country's national security agency was hit by a missile. Social media footage showed a missile hitting the US naval base in Bahrain. In Kuwait, a drone crashed into the main airport, wounding several employees and damaging the facility.
Iran's proxies also joined the fray. In Iraq, bases of the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces were struck, killing at least two members of Kataib Hezbollah. The group and Yemen's Houthis threatened to strike US military bases across the region. The conflict, dubbed Operation Epic Fury by Washington, quickly expanded beyond the previous war in June 2025, which was confined to Israel and Iran.
In Jordan, explosions rocked the northern city of Irbid as missile shrapnel from intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles caused fires. The attacks drew condemnation from Arab states, with Qatar calling the Iranian strikes on its territory a 'direct assault on national security'. Citizens across the region expressed anxiety, with long queues at petrol stations in Lebanon and cancelled flights at Beirut airport.
