DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – It was supposed to be a romantic destination for Sarah Mettee and her husband, a warm winter break in Dubai away from their three young children to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.
Instead of relaxing in the sunshine, Mettee told NBC News on Monday, “they saw and heard a lot of rockets,” some of which were “blocked outside our hotel,” and called it “scary.” NBC News agreed to withhold the hotel’s name out of fear that it could be targeted because of the large number of American tourists staying there.
Now, like hundreds of thousands of pilgrims traversing the Middle East, Mettee is stranded. The flights were suspended after Iran retaliated against several strikes by its neighbors, including the United Arab Emirates, after the United States and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“We were looking forward to this trip,” he said Tuesday at his hotel, adding that it was “inexpensive and something we’ve never done before, just the two of us.”
“Trying to escape is really difficult,” said Mettee, 45, who arrived in Dubai last Monday. She added that she was worried it would be days before they could return home to their three children, ages 16, 9 and 8, in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Ministry of Defense of the UAE, an oil-rich confederation of seven sheikhdoms, said on Sunday its air defenses had intercepted 165 missiles, two cruise missiles and more than 540 Iranian drones in two days.
And Mettee said the American Embassy told them to take shelter in the area and they have not left the hotel since then. He added that he had tried to book several flights “trying to get out as soon as possible,” but all the ones he had booked so far had been cancelled.
“We just want to go home to our children,” he said, adding that they have a family “at home that takes care of them when we’re gone,” he said, adding that they have a family “at home that takes care of them when we’re gone,” he said. although he was worried that “it would be 10, 12, 14 days when we will be there without our children.”
After the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran over the weekend, the Islamic Republic launched retaliatory attacks in several countries, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia, as well as the UAE.
Dubai International Airport – the world’s busiest international hub – was closed for the third day in a row on Monday, although it is expected to reopen later this evening.
Dubai’s press office said on Sunday that the airport was damaged and four employees were injured.
It added that there was also a fire at Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, the city’s main seaport and major shipping hub.
Videos and photos posted on social media on Sunday also showed flames engulfing the facade of the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel and smoke billowing into the sky near the iconic Burj Khalifa, a 2,723-metre tower that towers over the city.
Others demonstrated on Saturday outside the Fairmont hotel on the artificial island of Palm Jumeirah.
Alex Bocquet said he was meeting friends near Fairmont when he “heard this big explosion.”
The 30-year-old CEO of The Modern Freelancer said on Monday that he had lived in Dubai for more than a year and had always felt safe there, “but at the time, that was too close for comfort.”
After calling his friends, he said, they decided to leave town as soon as possible. So, after going back to his place to get “my passport, as much money as possible, matches, a sweater in case we get stuck somewhere cold in the middle of the night,” he said they drove into the desert where they rented a place.
Dubai felt to them like “the epicenter of Iranian threats,” he said, adding that he thought Tehran targeted the city because it was “the capital of tourism.”
“We are lucky that most of us are in business and work remotely,” he said, adding that they will stay in their rented houses for a long time.
“We were shocked by what happened in Fairmont,” he said.
For Mettee, the priority was to get home as soon as possible, but he said the attack at the airport worried him.
“I don’t want to fly if they are going to attack the airport, they are trying to close this place,” she added, adding that her three children knew they were delayed and would get home soon.
Her 16-year-old son “held it together,” she said, adding, “Cool, calm and collected.”
Keir Simmons reported from Dubai. Shira Pinson and Sara Monetta reported from London.
