‘Just a big show?’ Anxiety for Middle East after Iran-Israel attacks

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Escalating regional war, or a bunch of choreographed theatre?

Millions across the Middle East were told to shelter in place Monday night as the airspace closed above them and Iran fired a barrage of missiles over Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the U.S.’ largest and most fortified military base in the region. Videos of interceptors lighting up the night sky over Doha went viral on social media, while flight tracking platforms showed passenger jets on their way to Dubai and Abu Dhabi abruptly reversing course.

The Iranian strike, which U.S. President Donald Trump later described as “weak” and which the White House says was telegraphed before it was carried out in order to minimize casualties, came in response to unprecedented U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last week, which were carried out with the largest non-nuclear bombs on earth.

Trump has declared a cease-fire and called for peace. It remains to be seen whether Israel and Iran will both accept and stick to a ceasefire, and still more questions remain: what happened to Iran’s enriched uranium supplies? How much damage was done in all the strikes? Does it end here? Will Iran’s government survive? Will airspace reopen and flights resume all over the region?

People around the region expressed their feelings, fears and hopes in conversations with CNBC. Several of those individuals chose to do so on the condition of anonymity, due to the sensitive nature of their comments, and over concerns of repercussions from the state or from their employers.

“In my opinion, this war had one winner — and that was the United States. Because it also showed Israel that without the United States, it cannot win — or even end —a war. And the second loser was the Islamic Republic, which realized it had no military capability to counter U.S. airstrikes, and that the U.S. could access every part of Iran whenever it wished. And the biggest losers were the people of Iran, whose national wealth was spent on nuclear enrichment — only for it all to be destroyed in a matter of nights.” — H., oil and gas business director in Tehran, Iran

“I’m so ‘ehhh’ about this. It just seemed like a big show.  I guess everyone was waiting on how Iran will respond. This is probably the best case scenario to calm things down. I hope the focus goes back to Gaza now. Many people are still getting killed there everyday.” — Saed Elayan, Palestinian entrepreneur living in Dubai

“People are laughing at the very limited scope of Iran’s operation against Al-Udeid. Yet Tehran actually managed to deliver a potent geostrategic message to the Gulf states: Instead of being a wellspring of protection, hosting American forces on their soil could — and indeed would — only invite devastating attacks.” — Mo, Egyptian-American living in Cairo

“We’re completely fed up. We’re angry, frustrated, sad, and scared. We feel helpless and we feel a massive amount of injustice. We’re tired of being attacked and destabilized by the U.S. and Israel under the guise of ‘freeing us from tyranny’. It’s laughable and we all see through it — we just want to live in peace and not watch our cousins get slaughtered for simply wanting to exist.” — Kareem, Egyptian entrepreneur living in Dubai

“Honestly I am not all that bothered about Iran. They caused more deaths in Iraq in the last 70 years than Israel did in Palestine. And if they decide to bomb each other, who am I to object. My only hope is that they keep it to themselves without dragging the rest of the region into it.” — A., Iraqi expat living in Dubai

“Just like all the other little interactions between Iran and Israel this has been very, very short lived, and they basically just kind of had a little skirmish and then called it a day. I knew this was going to be nothing different. And the real telltale sign was the fact that … the Islamic Republic has never officially entered a state of war. Because a war inherently needs a winner and a loser. But this wasn’t a war. This was just kind of like a little, I don’t know, slap fight, little like a b—- slap fight every now and then, and either way, both parties could walk away and save face and say both of them won, and they technically did, because there was no war, so there is technically no loser.” — Amir Hamidfar, content creator and video editor, Isfahan, Iran

“As a Lebanese with a business in Saudi and UAE I want this to be over as soon as possible. We stand at equal distance from not liking both countries [Iran and Israel] and are so resilient that we are not worried, but want this to be over.” — Cam Khoury, Lebanese entrepreneur, Dubai

“For me personally as a Swiss citizen, I feel safe in Dubai. But I feel very weird, living a normal life, posting on social media, it feels wrong. Currently mainly worried about the flight situation – while other people are scared for their life. And I’m just so shocked how Israel could just attack a sovereign state without little to no consequences.” — Luisa, Swiss expat working in Dubai

“I hate waking up and wondering what happened. I go to sleep having no idea what the region will look like in the morning. I should have gotten out of here sooner than I planned to, now if flights stay grounded I’m stuck. But hopefully this is the end of it and it doesn’t get worse from here.” — H., American expat in Dubai

“There’s been a deep sense of fear — not just of war, but of something unravelling. We’re living under the shadow of an escalating existential threat, where the future feels somewhat fragile and uncertain. And yet, alongside that fear, there’s a persistent hope: that this moment of crisis could also be a turning point for something better.” — Cochav Elkayam Levy, chair of the Civil Commission, central Israel

“My family are ok thank god… I think I’m more anxious than them. Holy s— man, like this is it. It’s now or never [for the Iranian regime to fall]. So much to be nervous about. So much to be hopeful about. So much to cry about. So much to express joy about. It’s a goddamn bipolar experience right now to be Iranian.” — S., Iranian expat and consultant in Dubai

“I basically am concerned about safe havens like Dubai no longer being safe havens because the USA and Israel can act independently of any international rules and with impunity. That the rest of the region will be dragged into this war all because of egos. Will my property price be affected? Will Dubai no longer be a safe place to live? Will my relatives in Iraq be safe considering they are so close to Iran?” — F., Iraqi expat and lawyer in Dubai

“”There’s a sense of relief that Iran’s nuclear, disruptive capabilities and proxies have been seriously degraded — but also deep anxiety about the risk of another full-scale regional war, and a fragile ceasefire unlikely to hold. Starting a war is one thing — ending it is another. You have to wonder if the Middle East is doomed to ‘forever wars,’ or if true conflict prevention and peacebuilding will ever take root.” — Mazen Hayek, media consultant, Dubai 

“Neighboring countries have to unite and pressure Israel to stop their relentless attacks on Iran immediately for any chance of peace. The current environment is a little scary for many and will negatively impact tourism, real estate, investors, and overall safety in the Persian Gulf. As a long time resident who lived through all the conflicts since Gulf War I, I am deeply concerned – for Iran and all countries on the Arabian Peninsula.” — K., energy consultancy founder, European expat in Dubai