Iranians living in Dubai say the ongoing war in Iran has left them torn between long-held hopes for political change and growing fear for relatives trapped in the conflict, according to a Saturday report by The Washington Post.
The conflict began after a joint US-Israeli military campaign launched on February 28 targeted Iranian leadership and strategic sites, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and triggering a wider confrontation between Iran and its adversaries.
Dubai, which hosts one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities in the Gulf, has become a place where those watching the war from afar struggle to process rapidly shifting emotions. Some expatriates initially welcomed the news of Khamenei’s death, hoping it might signal the beginning of democratic change in Iran. But as the bombing campaign continued, optimism gave way to anxiety over the safety of family members back home.
Many Iranian residents in Dubai now spend their days waiting for brief messages or calls from relatives sheltering inside Iran. According to accounts relayed to expatriates, families are staying indoors as airstrikes and heightened security patrols make daily life increasingly dangerous. Even those who supported the strikes now fear that Iran will be left in worse condition than it was before the war.
The uncertainty has also revived painful memories for older Iranians who lived through previous conflicts, including the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. Some say they feel disillusioned, doubting that outside military intervention will bring the political transformation many once hoped for.
A mix of hope and despair
Younger members of the diaspora, many of whom left Iran due to repression or economic hardship, describe a mix of hope and despair. While some still believe the upheaval could eventually weaken the regime, others fear the war may leave the country more unstable and devastated.
The conflict has also cast a shadow over cultural traditions and family connections. With the Persian New Year, Nowruz, approaching, many Iranian expatriates say celebrations feel muted as they worry about loved ones living under bombardment and tightening internal controls.
For many in Dubai’s Iranian community, the war has transformed what once seemed like a distant geopolitical struggle into a deeply personal crisis - one measured not in strategic gains or losses, but in the safety of family members still inside Iran.