Criticism of the government is illegal in the UAE.
Many influencers have been posting praise for the government online, stressing that there is no need to feel unsafe and that the missile defence systems are working well.
While most missiles have so far been intercepted, the damage done to iconic buildings and the images of them circulating online may make some question the dream of living in Dubai.
The image of Dubai as a prosperous and contemporary city “is now being punctured”, Yasser Elsheshtawy, professor of architecture at Columbia University, told the BBC.
“When you begin to see plumes of smoke rising in the city and sounds of explosion in some of the most exclusive places”, it “shatters that image of Dubai as this haven of security and safety”, the academic, who lived in Dubai for 20 years, said.
“It will suffer for years to come,” he added.
Karen Young, senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy, also at Columbia University, added that Iran’s decision to target civilian, and in particular tourist infrastructure, was unprecedented.
“I think for many people it just seemed impossible that the tourist infrastructure would ever be targeted in such a way, so it’s kind of pierced the facade of safety,” said Young, who previously lived in Dubai for six years.
She added that Dubai is made up of people from all sorts of walks of life, and while there are those who are part of the more glamorous scene associated with the city, there are many who don’t fit that mold.
“I think a lot of people are rightly afraid, and many people, particularly from the region, are in Dubai because they’ve escaped war somewhere else.”