This is the moment tourists in Dubai run as retaliatory Iranian missiles are intercepted overhead amid fears the Middle East is on the brink of all-out war.
A short 11-second clip has emerged online showing the brief moment when Iranian airstrikes were shot out of the sky above the United Arab Emirates city.
People were soaking up the sun beside the pool as two clouds expanded in the blue sky above.
In the video, with over half a million views, the woman says, ‘Oh my god’ as she pans the camera across the pool and back up to two plumes of smoke in the sky while insisting, ‘They are bombing it’.
It comes as Iran has launched revenge attacks across the Middle East in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Israel after the US and Israel targeted the offices of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei this morning.
Tehran has also hit the US’s Fifth Fleet service centre in Manama, Bahrain, and alleges to have struck several bases across Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. Meanwhile, Iraq, Dubai and Jordan have all reported missile activity so far.
Earlier today, Donald Trump condemned Iran‘s ‘vicious’ leaders’ 47-year ‘campaign of bloodshed and mass murder’ as he vowed to ‘raze’ the country’s missile industry ‘to the ground’.
It comes as the first strike was launched on Iran, which was believed to have targeted Khamenei’s offices this morning, following weeks of knife-edge tensions between the countries.
However, officials have said the 86-year-old, who has not been seen in public for days, is not in Tehran and has been transferred to a secure location.
Westerners poolside watch on as Iranian missiles are intercepted in the skies of Dubai today
In the video, with over half a million views, the woman says, ‘Oh my god’ as she pans the camera across the pool and back up to two plumes of smoke in the sky
Will Bailey, who is visiting Dubai, said he was ‘awoken to what seems like World War Three’ on his visit to the city
Meanwhile, Will Bailey, who is visiting Dubai, shared on his TikTok that he was ‘awoken to what seems like World War Three’ on his first day in the city.
‘Apparently, missiles have just landed in Abu Dhabi, which is about an hour drive from Dubai,’ the Brit said. ‘I was about to go to a beach club and have a nice Saturday afternoon.’
As they listen to a radio message reiterating the British embassy was aware of strikes over the UAE, his friend joked, ‘We need to get a bottle show, it could be our last one.’
‘Go out with a bang literally,’ Will replied before nervously biting his nails as the broadcast message confirmed a second wave of missiles had been intercepted.
‘What is happening?’ he exclaimed before his mouth was left agape following the confirmation of one death in Abu Dhabi amid the strikes.
‘Someone’s died in Abu Dhabi,’ he tells his friend. ‘The phone is shaking as I’m holding my phone up…s**t.’
In another clip posted by @iknowuea, loud reverberating sounds can be heard as a plume of white smoke emerges as a missile is intercepted.
A video from outside a Brewdog in the Middle Eastern city shows a second projectile being struck down in the sky.
In another clip posted by @iknowuea, loud reverberating sounds can be heard as a plume of white smoke emerges as a missile is intercepted.
A plume of smoke risin gover Abu Dhabi following in Iranian missile strike on February 28, 2028
‘F****ng close,’ a British voice could be heard saying, while another added: ‘That’s the second one.’
In one video, a Brit can be heard saying, ‘That’s three missiles, over our heads’, while focusing on the white missile streak above.
‘Isn’t that cool?’ one says, as another exclaims in shock, ‘What the f**k’.
Meanwhile, British influencer Leah Mai, who moved from London to Dubai, shared a short clip of the blue sky to her story following the missile interception.
‘Every so often, you get reminded that you live in the Middle East. A place where bombs do actually go off. Mad,’ she wrote.
Elsewhere, Jamie Smith, who was drinking pints by the pool, said he heard ‘three loud bangs’.
‘Hotel is delivering complementary ice lollies like all is good, he added. ‘Well the pool and the adjoining pub are very quiet for a Saturday.’
Elsewhere, Dennis who lives in London,shared a video of himself lying on the beach with a snippet of Sophie Ellis-Bexter’s ‘murder on the dancefloor’.
‘Casually at the beach in Dubai whilst Iran just tried bombing the UAE 45 minutes ago,’ he wrote.
It comes as blasts have also rocked Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, sparking fears the Middle East may now be on the brink of all-out war.
In Bahrain, officials confirmed that the headquarters of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet had been targeted by a missile attack – with footage shared on social media showing a large plume of smoke rising into the sky.
Explosions have also been heard in the Syrian city of Damascus and in the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon, apparently as a result of Israeli missile interceptions.
The Operation has been named ‘Lion’s Roar’ by Israel and ‘Epic Fury’ by the US Department of Defense, which Trump has renamed the Department of War.
People take cover in an underground light rail station amid reports of incoming missiles in Israel
More Israeli’s taking shelter at an underground train station as they prepare for retaliatory missile strikes
An image shows smoke billowing from a building after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday morning
Smoke rises after Iran carried out a missile strike on the main headquarters of the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain
It is understood that the UK did not participate in the attacks, and Sir Keir Starmer will chair a meeting of the Government’s emergency Cobra committee later today.
UK citizens have been urged to shelter by the British embassy in Doha, while Qatar also warned residents via an alert to stay indoors and away from military bases.
The UK withdrew its diplomatic staff from Iran on Friday due to security worries, while staff in the British embassy in Tel Aviv and their dependents have been moved to another location by the Foreign Office.
The UK Government said its priority is ‘the safety of UK nationals’ in the Middle East but that it is ‘ready to protect our interests’.
A Government spokesperson said: ‘Iran must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon and that is why we have continually supported efforts to reach a negotiated solution.
‘Our immediate priority is the safety of UK nationals in the region and we will provide them with consular assistance, available 24/7.
‘As part of our longstanding commitments to the security of our allies in the Middle East, we have a range of defensive capabilities in the region, which we have recently bolstered. We stand ready to protect our interests.
‘We do not want to see further escalation into a wider regional conflict.’
Meanwhile, Iran’s exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi has urged Iranians to prepare for an uprising and to take to the streets in the midst of the Islamic Republic’s collapse.
He warned civilians to stay at home for now and to prepare to mobilise, ready for his instructions.
Describing the US’s attacks as ‘humanitarian intervention’, he reminded security forces they had sworn to protect the Iranian people and not IS and its leaders.
He urged that if they did not switch sides, they would ‘sink’ alongside the current regime and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also warned the Iranian regime ‘must not be armed with nuclear weapons’.
‘My brothers and sisters, citizens of Israel, a short time ago, Israel and the United States embarked on an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran.
He said the regime had ‘spilled our blood’, and ‘murdered many Americans, and massacred its own people.’
Israelis run for cover after Iran unleashed retaliatory strikes in the country
People run for cover following explosions in Tehran on Saturday
A man looks on as a plume of smoke rises following a reported explosion in Tehran
An image shows smoke billowing from a building after an explosion in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday morning
‘This murderous terrorist regime must not be armed with nuclear weapons that would allow it to threaten all of humanity,’ he said.
‘Our joint action will create the conditions for the courageous Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands.
‘The time has come for all segments of the Iranian people – the Persians, the Kurds, the Azeris, the Baluchis, and the Ahwazis – to throw off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peaceful Iran.
‘Together we will stand, together we will fight, and together we will ensure the eternity of Israel.’
In Tehran, witnesses heard the first blast by Mr Khamenei’s office on Saturday morning. Iranian state television later reported the explosion, without offering a cause.
There have also been unverified reports of explosions in other locations across Iran including Isfahan, the third biggest city, and Tabriz.
More explosions struck Iran’s capital after Israel said it was attacking the country. Authorities have offered no casualty information from the strikes.
Meanwhile, Iran shut down its airspace and mobile phone services were cut as internet access dropped by over half, according to NetBlocks.
Israel has warned its own citizens to prepare to take cover if the Iranians fight back, with sirens already being heard across Israel.
The country’s Defense Force said: ‘This is a proactive alert to prepare the public for the possibility of missiles being launched toward the State of Israel.’
Airspace above Israel was closed to civilian flights following the strike this morning.
The explosions come as tensions rose between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Earlier today, Trump denounced the regime as the ‘world’s number one stage sponsor of terror’, which had recently killed ‘tens of thousands of its own people as they protested’.
‘It has always been the police of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon,’ the US president added.
Rubble and destroyed building in Tehran after US and Israeli launch strikes on the city on February 28, 2026
Smoke billows into the sky of Tehran after Israel launches a second wave of airstrikes on February 28, 2026
A woman runs with her dog for shelter in Haifa, northern Israel after the US and Israel launch strikes on Iran
‘I will say it again. They can never have a nuclear weapon.’
‘This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the US armed forces,’ he later added.
He then turned his address to the ‘great proud people of Iran’, saying it was their ‘hour of freedom’ that was at hand.
Warning them to stay sheltered and at home, he urged them to ‘take’ their government after the US operation is over.
‘This will probably be your only chance for generations,’ he said. ‘For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it.’
‘No president was willing to do what I was willing to do tonight. Now you have a president who is willing to give you what you want.
‘So let’s see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force.
‘Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is in your reach.
‘This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass. May god bless the brave men and women of America’s armed forces.
‘May god bless the United States of America. May god bless you all.’
