Photo- A black plume of smoke rises from a warehouse at the industrial area of Sharjah City in the United Arab Emirates following reports of Iranian strikes in Dubai on March 1, 2026. © Altaf Qadri, AP
“If Iranian attacks continue throughout this week, I would expect the Gulf Arab states to eventually participate in counter-attacks on Iran,” one defense expert told Breaking Defense.
BEIRUT — In response to the joint attack by Israel and the US, Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones towards its neighbors — forcing countries to scramble their air defenses in order to protect civilians, with mixed results.
Iran launched ballistic missiles and attack drones toward Dubai, prompting explosions, emergency security measures, and evacuation procedures including at the Burj Khalifa.
In the 36 hours since the war against Iran began, Tehran has launched weapons towards Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. While ostensibly against US bases in those countries, weapons have hit airports and civilian buildings across the region.
Smoke rises at Abu Dhabi International Airport following a suspected drone attack.
“For the first time in history, all the GCC states were targeted by the same actor within 24 hours. Their long-standing nightmare scenario has happened,” Sinem Cengiz, a researcher at Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center and a non-resident fellow at Gulf International Forum, told Breaking Defense. “Although in case of a US attack to Iran, this was an expected action from Tehran, but the scope has shocked both the Gulf political elite and public.”
She added that by hitting civilian infrastructure, whether intentionally or not, in the Gulf Cooperation Council capitals, “Iran has crossed a dangerous line. The aim may have been to raise tensions in the Gulf to pressure the US, but this calculus may also backfire. It risks pushing the GCC states closer to the US camp in this war.”
Damaged buildings after a drone attack in Bahrain this weekend. ANADOLU/GETTY IMAGES
Defending against the incoming fire has been an all-of-government situation, said Gulf-based security and defense analyst Kristian Alexander.
“States across the Gulf Cooperation Council, notably [the] United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain, have activated far more than missile-defense batteries,” he told Breaking Defense. “They have dispersed military aircraft, hardened critical infrastructure, activated alternate command-and-control nodes, and implemented widespread civil-defense measures such as shelter-in-place alerts, school closures, and controlled public movement.”
Getting an exact count of what has been launched by Tehran is difficult for many obvious reasons. However, open-source reporting and statements from the local governments have shown a sizeable barrage, as the numbers presented below largely represent interceptions and not the weapons that got through:
BREAKING DEFENSE
