The past week has been incredibly challenging for airlines in the Middle East, after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, only for Iran to respond by firing missiles just about anywhere it could, including (in theory) “friendly” countries in the region. This has caused massive disruptions at airlines like Emirates, which have struggled to operate their network.
Things were finally looking up in recent days, only to then be disrupted again today. However, what’s interesting is what Iran is now claiming.
Iran attacks Dubai Airport again, with huge explosion
Around a week ago, Dubai International Airport (DXB) was struck by an Iranian drone, causing damage to the terminal.
We’ve seen several other explosions in the UAE since then, including one this morning. On the morning of Saturday, March 7, 2026, another Iranian drone exploded near Dubai Airport. Actual damage to planes and the terminal seems limited, though it exploded terrifyingly close to the terminal. This once again prompted all operations to be halted, including some flights being put into a holding pattern, and even diverting.
Emirates resumed operations within hours, and continues to operate a very limited schedule, consisting primarily of repatriation flights. The airline has been hoping to scale up operations even more, but the risk of attacks have made it very hard to do anything reliably.
It’s always hard to know exactly what to make of this. The government of the UAE of course downplays these incidents, and seemingly everything is described as “minor.” For that matter, it’s not clear if Iran is intentionally not maximizing damage with these drones, or if they’re just really bad at directing them.
Iran apologizes for attack, claims it’ll stop
Here’s where it gets even more interesting, as I see it. Iran’s attacks of nearby countries seems to have questionable logic, but the chaos has continued. Today, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that the country’s temporary leadership council has approved the suspension of attacks on nearby countries.
Specifically, they’ve committed to not carrying out any missile strikes or attacks against nearby countries unless an attack on Iran originates from their territory. Pezeshkian has said that “I must apologise on my own behalf and on behalf of Iran to the neighbouring countries that were attacked by Iran,” but that of course doesn’t extend to the United States or Israel.
In reference to those countries, Pezeshkian has said that “the enemies must take their wish for the surrender of the Iranian people to their graves.”
It’s hard to trust the Iranian government, and for that matter, it’s anyone’s guess how this situation evolves in the coming weeks. However, it’s at least generally encouraging to hear that attacks on nearby countries could stop.
Bottom line
Dubai Airport was attacked again this morning, with an Iranian missile exploding right next to the terminal, nearly a week after the last major attack of the airport. Obviously the risk of these missiles has caused problems for operating reliably at the airport.
What’s noteworthy this time around is that Iran has apologized, and has claimed it will no longer send missiles to nearby countries, unless attacks on Iran originate from those areas. We’ll see how true that claim ends up being…
What do you make of this latest attack on Dubai Airport, plus Iran’s claims?
