Iran is targeting the global connectivity hub of its Gulf neighbors, paralyzing aviation operations in the region, which depends on aviation as an economic artery.
Those countries use airports for food imports and to bring the main labor force, foreigners, back home.
Airports are also important connecting points for global transportation and goods. According to flight tracking service Flightradar24, more than 3,400 flights were canceled on March 1 at 7 Middle Eastern airports.
So far, Iran has attacked airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the operating centers of Emirates and Etihad airlines in the United Arab Emirates, as well as other airports in Kuwait and Bahrain.
A black column of smoke rises on the morning of March 1st after an Iranian drone attack on Dubai International Airport - the airport that was ranked as the busiest airport in the world in terms of international passenger volume last year. All flights have been suspended until further notice.
Iran is also targeting seaports and other important infrastructure. Drones have attacked high-rise hotels and other buildings in Dubai and apartment buildings in Bahrain. Iran's threats have also blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil corridor, showing that Tehran's retaliation is beginning to have a global impact.
Attacks on airports, seaports and other important infrastructure show that Iran is targeting economic difficulties in the Gulf to put pressure on the US and Israel.
It is used to create a sense of isolation for those countries, making their people feel lonely and causing panic in their hearts. Iran's strategy is not only to regionalize the conflict, but also to internationalize it through the Gulf countries from the very beginning," said Yasmine Farouk, Director of the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Project at the International Crisis Group (ICG).
Small but rich thanks to huge oil and gas reserves, the Gulf countries, including the UAE and Qatar, have turned airports into global centers connecting Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, competing with other important centers such as London, Singapore, Amsterdam and Istanbul to attract long-distance tourists.
According to the International Airports Council, Dubai's airport served more than 92 million international visitors in 2024, 13 million more than London's Heathrow Airport - the second busiest airport.
Doha Airport in Qatar is the 10th busiest airport in the world in terms of international visitors, according to the ranking of this industry group.
Security analysts say Iran's current attack is aimed at increasing pressure on the US by forcing Gulf countries to call on the US to cancel the attack. The attacks have pushed oil prices up, raising concerns about rising global energy prices and inflation.
They want to force all parties involved to pay the price. It's like a clean-fire strategy. They are trying their best to show that if we collapse, you will also collapse" - Mr. Bader Al-Saif, professor at the University of Kuwait and a member of Chatham House, said.
