Iran’s strikes against Gulf cities effectively severed what had been fitfully improving regional ties and upended those metropolises’ carefully cultivated reputations as havens for capital and talent.
Both Saudi Arabia and the UAE — the latter of which reported three deaths as a result of the Iranian attacks — have so far not responded militarily to Tehran’s operations, but have said they will not hold fire indefinitely. Many Western expatriates in Abu Dhabi, Doha, or Dubai have sought to flee cities built in large part on a perception of safety.
Riyadh, meanwhile, has emerged as a key exit route for the super-rich and senior executives looking for safe passage out of the region, underlining the Saudi capital’s transformation in recent years.