When Iran launched strikes against the UAE, influencers and ex-pats posted videos of missiles and drone strikes… then it went dark. These are the Iranian strikes the UAE didn’t want you to see
As Iran retaliated to US-Israel airstrikes in February, influencers and terrified ex-pats shared videos and photos of Iranian missiles raining down on the UAE.
On the first day of attacks alone, the luxury Fairmont and Burj Al Arab hotels in Dubai were both hit, alongside Dubai International Airport and Jebel Ali port.
But as the latest episode of the Daily Mail’s Photo Evidence reveals, the sharing of images and video quickly went dark as the UAE began a legal crackdown aimed at concealing the extent of Iran’s attacks.
In the episode host Catherine Barnwell and Bellingcat investigative journalist Sebastian Vandermeersch explore the reality behind the UAE’s information blackout.
‘No country was targeted by more attacks during the Iran War than the UAE, and no country did more to try and hide the result of those strikes from the outside world,’ Barnwell said
‘Iranian strikes reached far more of the UAE than many observers may realize. At the same time, public messaging focused overwhelmingly on interceptions, continuity, and normality.
‘From a military perspective, that approach is understandable. Iran’s objective was never simply to destroy targets; it was to impose costs – not only physical costs but economic ones.
‘Every diverted flight, every burning fuel tank, every image of a drone over Dubai challenges the idea that the Gulf can remain insulated from a regional war. In that sense, perception itself becomes part of the battlefield.’
UAE authorietis claimed the Burj Al Arab was hit by debris from an intercepted missile, but experts say the damage is far more consistent with a direct drone hit
Multiple videos from different angles showed a drone striking the Fairmont Hotel The Palm on February 28.
However, as Vandermeersch points out, the attack was never acknowledged by Dubai officials.
A statement put out by the Dubai Media Centre said only that ‘an incident occurred in a building in the Palm Jumeirah area’.
UAE authorities have also sought to claim the Emirates are impregnable thanks to its air defence systems, leading to it watering down claims about other attacks.
When the iconic ‘seven star’ Burj Al Arab hotel began burning the same day as the Fairmont, authorities claimed it was hit by debris from an intercepted missile – despite expert opinion that the damage is far more consistent with a direct drone hit.
Vandermeersch said: ‘The flames extend roughly 30 meters high, which is equivalent to around eight floors of the building.
‘A drone expert told us that damage appears far more consistent with a direct strike than with falling fragments.
‘They also noted that if an interception had in fact, have had to have happened dangerously close to the building.’
Plumes of smoke and fire rise after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone struck an oil facility in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates on March 14, 2026
The UAE response to Iranian aggressor from the start focused heavily on their powers of interception – but that has not always told the whole story (pictured: a document released by the UAE Ministry of Defence in March cataloguing the Iranian drones and missiles shot down)
As well as omitting information about Iranian attacks, UAE authorities also began actively prosecuting those sharing footage of the Iranian retaliations online.
The Mail on Sunday revealed in March that as many as 70 Britons were locked up in the United Arab Emirates for taking photos and videos of drone and missile attacks.
Among them was a 60-year-old British tourist who was filming a missile strike at the time of his arrest.
Detained in Dubai, an organization that provides legal advice to people held in the UAE, also confirmed to Photo Evidence that a Vietnamese national had been detained for filming and posting footage of a drone striking a port in Fujairah.
The port sits outside of the Strait of Hormuz, allowing oil exports to continue even if traffic through the Gulf is disrupted. Roughly 1.7 million barrels of oil move through Fujairah every single day, making it one of the country’s most important energy sites in the region.
Vandermeersch said: ‘On March 3rd, the film appears to show a drone approaching the port.
‘There is no visible sign of interception. The drone remains intact as it descends behind the storage tanks. Moments later, an explosion. Then a large plume of smoke rises from the facility.
‘Yet on the same day, the Fujairah media office stated that the resulting fire was caused by debris from a successful interception, and that the fire had been brought under control.
Another target for Iranian retaliation was the Al Dhafra Air Base, which is located approximately 20 miles south of Abu Dhabi.
Alongside Emirati and French forces, Al Dhafra also hosts the US Air Force’s 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, which is responsible for aerial refueling – making it a vital support for attacks by the Americans against Iran during the war.
Satellite imagery of Al Dhafra Air Base before the Iranian attack (left) and then again on March 15, 2026 (right). The image shows three aircraft hangars with damaged, scorched roofs
The hangars are known to have previously housed Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft (file photo), which cost upwards of $500m each
The base was hit on February 28. A satellite image from March 15 shows three aircraft hangars with damaged, scorched roofs.
The hangars are known to have previously housed Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft, which cost upwards of $500m each.
The UAE only has five in total – so if there were destroyed, that would be a loss of more than half their fleet.
Barnwell said: ‘What makes the UAE’s experience during this war particularly challenging is not simply that it was attacked – many countries have been attacked.
‘It’s that the UAE’s economy, international reputation, and political model are built around a perception of stability.
‘For decades, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have positioned themselves as something unusual in the Middle East-a place where global capital, multinational corporations, tourists, patriots can operate largely insulated from the instability surrounding them.
‘But wars have a habit of challenging those assumptions.’
