Matthew Nesbitt, a 34-year-old from Holywood, Northern Ireland, runs a security technology business in Dubai. He departed Dubai on a pre-planned flight at 2:20 a.m. on Saturday for business meetings in London and family visits.

Missiles launched while his flight was airborne. Iran fired back at the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain by the time he landed. Video showed four or five missiles hitting Dubai terminal B13, 40 yards from his departure gate, at around 5 a.m. with no injuries reported.

Nesbitt belongs to a WhatsApp group of 25 to 30 former colleagues in Dubai. They respond to events with light humor alongside some worry. Female friends express fear despite being safe. Male friends remain relaxed.

Friends continue playing golf and tennis at the beach with missiles overhead. They trust the UAE government's missile defence system, which intercepted 95% of Iranian missiles. One missile landed 12 to 15 meters long, 50 to 60 yards from Nesbitt's apartment block on the first day.

Two Northern Ireland friends returned to Dubai during the conflict, one from Crawfordsburn and one from Bangor. One flew back after a funeral in Northern Ireland to join his fiancée and dog. A female friend returned with her four-year-old child to her husband and other children.

Nesbitt's house cleaner called him on Monday asking about his mop location. Government fighter jets overhead create the main noise disruption. He views Dubai as having deterred a powerful military effectively.

Nesbitt has a dozen Iranian friends in Dubai who support US and Israel actions against their home regime. They expressed bafflement at Belfast protests against those efforts after seeing related videos.