The Global Story: Can Dubai’s luxe image survive the war with Iran?

Asma Khalid (0:00)

Hi there, it's Asma Khalid. I'm one of the hosts of The Global Story Podcast from the BBC. On our show, we tell one story in depth every weekday about where the world and America meet. And as a bonus for your feed today, we are bringing you one of our favorite episodes of the past week. We took a closer look at Dubai, the city that is supposed to be the land of luxury, a sort of playground for the wealthy. But in recent months, it has faced very real threats in the wake of the war in Iran. How is this conflict transforming the United Arab Emirates and the lives of the people who live there? That's why you're here today. And if you enjoy our episode today, you can always find more from us by searching for The Global Story wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. All right, on to the show. When you think of Dubai, what do you imagine? Let me guess, luxury hotels, endless shopping malls, sun-soaked beaches, gleaming towers, five-star restaurants, essentially a resort style in the middle of the desert, right? Well, earlier this year, that image seemed to come crashing down.

The thing is, Dubai is part of the United Arab Emirates, a little country in the Gulf that has built a reputation on being safe and luxe. It's also just south of Iran, near the Strait of Hormuz. And when the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran back in late February, the UAE became the target of Iran's retaliation.

The UAE has close ties with the US and in the past few years, it's been cooperating more with Israel, too. And during this war, it has been attacked by Iran more times than any other nation, including Israel.

For years, Dubai has been a place that promised safety, security, and stability. But has that promise fallen apart? From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, DC. And today on The Global Story, six months after the war began, whatever happened to brand Dubai?

Sameer Hashmi (2:02)

I'm Sameer Hashmi. I'm an independent journalist based here in Dubai. I cover the Gulf region. I used to be the BBC's Middle East correspondent based in Dubai until last year, but now I'm independent.

Asma Khalid (2:14)

Well, Sameer Hashmi, welcome to The Global Story. You live and report in Dubai. And in late February, when the United States and Israel began attacking Iran, we saw Iran very quickly retaliate. And it began by specifically aiming a lot of missiles and drones at the United Arab Emirates. And Sameer, sitting here in Washington, you know, I certainly saw the images, the image, say, of a luxury hotel on fire. We saw these social media videos. I'm actually so scared.

SPEAKER_3 (2:44)

I'm in JDC right now, and I can see it.

Sameer Hashmi (2:47)

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Asma Khalid (2:49)

Axepads who thought they were living their best lives.

SPEAKER_3 (2:51)

Right now I'm in Dubai. This is my house. There have been missiles for the last 20 hours.

Asma Khalid (2:57)

We have just been hit by a drone.

Sameer Hashmi (2:59)

It stinks of oil in here. I didn't even finish my cup of tea.

Asma Khalid (3:02)

Come on, that got my heart racing.

Sameer Hashmi (3:04)

What a time to be alive, hey?

Asma Khalid (3:06)

There was this one video in particular on social media that struck a nerve with people.

SPEAKER_3 (3:11)

Not meant to be happening here.

Asma Khalid (3:14)

We're supposed to be in the safest place. Like, please just stop. And I want to understand from you, Sameer, why were these images or these videos so disorienting to people around the world?

Sameer Hashmi (3:28)

We have to take a step back and talk about what was Dubai's perception globally.

Asma Khalid (3:32)

Yes.

Sameer Hashmi (3:33)

Before the war started. So Dubai was considered as the safe oasis, a hub for tourism business, luxury hotels. This was a picture that was painted globally about Dubai, which was partly true, of course, travel and lifestyle influences. They projected a lifestyle of opulence, that they're living in these fancy villas, going to the beachside for a swim, going to these five-star, seven-star hotels, and that somehow projected the image of Dubai.

Some of it is true. Some of it is not, Asma.

Asma Khalid (4:04)

Yeah, I was going to say, Sameer, do you live in a fancy villa? I mean, that is the image we always see of Dubai. I was like, show us your crib.

Sameer Hashmi (4:10)

Unfortunately, no. But that's the case for most of the city, actually, Asma. I think what these influences show or project is not even one person of Dubai's population.