“I don’t know if you heard it, but it sounds like something happened.”
These were the words of Grayson Foster, a Canadian based in Dubai, in an interview with Global News on Sunday as Iran continues to launch missiles at various Middle Eastern countries.
The missile strikes are part of Iran’s retaliation to the US and Israel continuing their bombing of the country, which led to the death of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.
Iran has launched attacks on the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain and Israel, among many other countries.
Foster told Global News she was getting out of her rental car Saturday night when she saw something.
“I saw something go by and I thought, ‘Huh, that’s interesting, what is that?’ And you know the sound when the jet goes over and you hear it (the sound) and all of a sudden it hits a boom and an explosion,” he said.
He said the missile hit the Fairmont The Palm hotel in Palm Jumeirah, where he lives. Photos taken by Reuters on Sunday show damage to the hotel.
After the missile hit, people started filming and taking photos “before a bunch of missiles started coming,” Foster said.
“Of course, they’re holding them back so they’re blowing up in the sky,” he said. “But the sound of it and the visuals of it are obviously very intimidating and surreal. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life, of course, growing up in Canada.”
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The crowd, including Foster, ran to a nearby restaurant and stayed for several hours.
Emergency alerts make the situation more stressful, Foster said.
“I tried to sleep last night at about 1:30 a.m.,” he said. “They put out an emergency alert system, we got some on our phones. The missiles were definitely intercepted, so that sound is a jarring sound and it scares you.”
Foster added that the government in Dubai has issued statements on social media about where the safest places are and advised people to pack essentials if necessary.
Canadians were forced to register for information, seeking refuge in place
External Affairs Minister Anita Anand posted on X on Sunday that Canadians in the Middle East and Gulf states have been urged to seek refuge in place as hostilities continue in the region.
“Canadians in the wider area should follow local guidance and evacuate only when safe,” Anand wrote.
Surge consular support under Canada’s Standing Rapid Deployment Team has been deployed to the surrounding area to assist Canadians in multiple countries, he said. Those countries include Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Jordan and Israel.
People are asked to sign up to the Canadians Abroad Registry to receive updated information.
“We condemn the Iranian regime’s indiscriminate attacks against civilian infrastructure across the region, including in the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Jordan,” Anand wrote. “These attacks are a serious threat to regional stability and civilian security.”
According to Global Affairs Canada, 2,934 Canadians and permanent residents as of Feb.
The organization says there are more than 75,000 registrants across the wider Middle East, but the numbers are rough estimates because registration is voluntary.
Global News requested updated numbers as of Sunday, but had not heard back from the publication.
Queen’s University students stranded in Doha
Foster is one of many Canadians living in or visiting one of several countries targeted by Iran.
It’s an equally difficult situation for several Queen’s University students stuck at the airport in Doha, Qatar.
The group, which had boarded a flight home to Toronto following a field course in Sri Lanka with a stopover in Doha, heard an announcement that the airspace was closed.
“There was initial panic among myself and my classmates,” said Claire Hafner, a fourth-year undergraduate biology student.
He said the Qatar Airways flight returned to Doha, where passengers were put on board before what he described as a “chaotic scene” inside the airport.
The group is now waiting to find out when they will be able to leave as the airspace is closed.
–With files from Global News’ Prisha Dev, Heidi Petrasek and Aaron D’Andrea and The Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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