As the joint U.S.-Israel attacks against the Iranian regime continue, a Barrie resident found himself in the middle of the warzone that has expanded across the Middle East.
Bryan Jorgensen was on a pedestrian bridge near the Ain Dubai Ferris wheel as the Iranian regime launched retaliatory air strikes toward Persian Gulf targets, including in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“When I was on the bridge and the first tracers started going into the sky and the drones started attacking it got really quiet,” recalled Jorgensen. “Some people were swearing, but everybody’s looking nervous. Everybody’s got their phone pointed to the sky. For the first time in awhile, I felt very nervous and uneasy.”
Jorgensen has been vacationing in Dubai for nearly a month, a trip that he planned back in August.
“As the trip got closer, I could feel the tension happening, so I still decided to go and I was hoping nothing would happen,” he continued. “Unfortunately, it happened last night. I didn’t think it would, and I’m hoping that it’ll settle down the next few days.”
Early Saturday morning, the U.S. and Israel launched a major attack against the Iranian regime, sending missiles into Iran overnight targeting military and governmental sites.
The attacks led to the death of Ali Khamenei, the regime’s supreme leader, and some of its other top lieutenants.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responded by firing retaliatory attacks spread across the Gulf states and the wider Middle East, reaching beyond U.S. bases and interests.
Dubai’s international airport and its landmark Burj Al Arab hotel sustained damage from the strikes, and the death toll of the conflict continues to rise.
Jorgensen, who is staying in an apartment near the iconic Palm Jumeirah, says he feels ‘pretty safe.’
“Currently there’s a shelter in place so there’s very little traffic outside, but I feel pretty secure in this building,” confirmed Jorgensen. “There’s still some rumblings outside. You can tell when their air defence system is being used, and there’s explosions in the sky. But they’ve become quite less frequent.”
He is supposed to fly back to Canada next week on March 11. But with most of the Middle Eastern airspace closed, that remains to be determined.
“Hopefully by next Tuesday or Wednesday I’ll be on that flight home,” stated Jorgensen. “Anyone planning to come here – even if they think the situation is settled down and the war is over – I probably wouldn’t come here for quite awhile. That’s my advice.”
With files from The Canadian Press and Reuters.
