Eyewitnesses reported hearing explosions in Dubai
Authorities have dismissed reports of explosions in the city as false
Photo: Unsplash/Robert Bock
Loud explosions were heard over Dubai’s Business Bay district, located next to the Burj Khalifa skyscraper, on the evening of Thursday, July 16, Euronews reports, citing its correspondent in the city. According to eyewitnesses, the city’s air defense system was intercepting missiles in the sky above the city amid renewed attacks by Iran, the publication reports. Eyewitnesses in Business Bay also reported hearing loud noises, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, Dubai’s official media office on the social media platform X called “the Reuters report on explosions” in the city false and stated that it would take action against media outlets that publish “fake news or unverified information about Dubai.”
Iran has resumed strikes on the territory of neighboring countries amid the de facto collapse of the ceasefire in its war with the U.S. On Thursday, Iran and the U.S. actively attacked each other’s positions, Reuters reports. And on Wednesday, for the first time since the signing of a memorandum of understanding in June, Washington launched two major waves of airstrikes in a single day—primarily against targets near the coast in southern Iran, the agency reports. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks on U.S. military bases in countries across the region, including a recently expanded base in Jordan, it claims.
Most stock markets in the Gulf states fell on Thursday due to renewed attacks and Iran’s re-blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters also noted. Dubai’s main stock index fell 0.3%, with shares of Dubai Islamic Bank dropping more sharply than others. The Abu Dhabi index fell 0.5%, the Saudi benchmark lost 0.2%, and the Omani index dropped 1.2%. The indices in Bahrain and Kuwait each fell by 0.1%. The Qatar Stock Exchange was closed.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Livitt said Thursday that Washington’s negotiations with Tehran are continuing and that the Iranian side still wants to reach a peace deal, according to Reuters. Iran released a U.S. citizen who had been detained in December 2024, a move that U.S. President Donald Trump described as a “gesture of goodwill.”
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
