The Gulf’s new normal
18 people have died so far in Iran's attacks on the Gulf's Arab states. The continuing drone and missile strikes beg the question: is the Persian Gulf safe nowadays?
The third week of the war in Iran brings more of the same. The US and Israel attack both military and civilian targets in the Islamic Republic, which sends drones and missiles on its Arab neighbours - Saudi Arabia intercepted 64 yesterday night. Tehran says it targets exclusively the American military infrastructure in the region, but that's missing the truth - a person died in an attack al Bahyah, near the Abu Dhabi airport. Moments earlier, a drone caused fire at Dubai International.
The Avenues shopping mall and boardwalk, Manama, Bahrain - 15.03.26
Life goes on - relatively normally. Feelings remain tense, but people are trying to keep calm and carry on. A day in Bahrain during Ramadan is usually calm, but people flock to the streets as the sun sets. City Center, the kingdom's largest shopping mall, was as crowded as ever upon the sunset, when people come out to eat. The long-held Ramadan tradition of Madfa al-Iftar, using a cannon to mark the breaking of fast, continues.
Roads and highways are full of traffic the way they were before the war. The skyscrapers damaged in Iranian attacks give an eerie feeling. They can't be photographed and visuals of the attacks can't be shared. Bahrain has arrested ten people for sharing photos and videos of the strikes, and the UAE over 40. The contrast between the apparent business as usual on the street in Bahrain, the sight of the skyscrapers with their gaping holes, and the destruction taking place 300 km away is quite jarring.
a park near The Avenues, in front of the World Trade Center, Manama, Bahrain - 15.03.26
The initial shock has begun to subside in other countries as well. Doha, the capital of Qatar, has seen little damage and no casualties, and the city's also full of people again.
We can't forget that the risk of dying in an Iranian strike is minuscule, and the disproportions great: wheras 18 people died in the Arab states, the US and Israel have killed over 1500 in Iran. Estimates say about 3 million people in Iran have had to leave their home. That doesn't minimise the suffering and emotions on the Arab side of the Gulf, but the difference is stark. Arab air defences intercept the vast majority of Iranian drones and missiles, something we hear every day - and recently more often at night.
Madfa al-Iftar, Manama, Bahrain - 15.03.26
One question is on everyone's minds: how's the war going to continue? Nobody has an answer. It remains a major worry, both for stranded travellers and for residents. War is a very unpredictable process, and trying to see the direction it takes is like reading tea leaves.