{"id":629,"date":"2026-06-03T11:46:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/gulf-expat-reactions-to-iran-war-show-us-how-countries-like-uae-instil-loyalty-in-western-migrants\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T11:46:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:46:17","slug":"gulf-expat-reactions-to-iran-war-show-us-how-countries-like-uae-instil-loyalty-in-western-migrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/gulf-expat-reactions-to-iran-war-show-us-how-countries-like-uae-instil-loyalty-in-western-migrants\/","title":{"rendered":"Gulf expat reactions to Iran war show us how countries like UAE instil loyalty in western migrants"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the US and Israel launched their strikes on Iran<\/a> on February 28 and Iran retaliated by targeting the Gulf Arab states<\/a>, I was closely monitoring social media accounts from the region. I research Middle East politics, with a focus on the Gulf, and the social media platforms I use are full of people living in the region \u2013 including western migrants, or as they tend to style themselves, expats. To my surprise, from many of them I saw the same message: \u201cIt is safe and normal here.\u201d <\/p>\n

This was not a trivial claim \u2013 these messages were sent as the countries they live in came under attack. But the attitudes they exhibited reflect a broad strategy long cultivated by Gulf Arab regimes<\/a>. This aims to instil in the people that opt to live there a sense of security, as well as aspiration for the lifestyle on offer and loyalty towards the country for making that lifestyle available. <\/p>\n

More importantly, the expats\u2019 reactions exposed the role that foreign residents and influencers have played in advancing a particular understanding of \u201cnormality\u201d. Not only do they accept authoritarian rule in the Gulf, they have been pushing out messages about insecurity elsewhere<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To be clear, a lot of foreign workers did leave the Gulf, reportedly in the tens of thousands<\/a>, when the conflict began. But even so, many of the initial reactions on social media, whether people stayed or opted to leave, projected this sense of security.<\/p>\n

Part of the US security hub<\/h2>\n

These regimes have developed an image<\/a> designed to attract global connectivity, foreign capital and flows of people and goods. The UAE, especially Dubai<\/a>, has become a symbol of tax-free residency and luxury tourism. Qatar<\/a> has established itself as reliable gas exporter and world-class mediator. Saudi Arabia has launched a sweeping reform project recasting national identity<\/a> and the kingdom\u2019s global role in championing \u201cmoderate Islam\u201d<\/a>, while Bahrain<\/a> has worked early since independence to become a regional banking hub.<\/p>\n

These state-building processes thrived under the security umbrella of US and other western military bases<\/a> across the Middle East. Firmly embedded in the US sphere of influence, Gulf monarchies have benefited from precious diplomatic cover and access to global markets. Other regional regimes, meanwhile \u2013 notably Iran \u2013 were excluded. This was more often due to their hostility towards the US<\/a> than for their brutal repression and disastrous governance at home.<\/p>\n

By directing global attention to threats such as Iran, Gulf regimes forged a strong sense of domestic normality. But in recent years, a less reliable US regional policy has made the security arrangement increasingly uncertain<\/a>, prompting Gulf regimes to explore alternatives. Without renouncing deeper engagement with the US, they welcomed cooperation with other powers outside the region, like China, as well as the possibility of closer relations with Israel<\/a> and even a modus vivendi<\/em> with Iran.<\/p>\n

Despite ongoing rivalries, including within the regional forum, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)<\/a>, regional conflict de-escalation and management appeared to be the preferred means to continue insulating the Gulf normality. Yet the ongoing destruction in Gaza, closer US-Israeli alignment in the latter\u2019s pursuit of regional dominance, and the ensuing pressure on Iran\u2019s network of proxies has undermined this delicate balance.<\/p>\n

Expats get political<\/h2>\n

The attack on Iran exposed foreign residents\u2019 role in sustaining the image of \u201cnormality\u201d. Until then, expats and influencers embodied this normality by displaying safe, privileged and apolitical lives. <\/p>\n

I saw posts attempting to divert attention from the threat of war in the Gulf by people claiming to feel safer under missile attacks in Dubai and Doha than \u201cafter 9pm\u201d in London<\/a> or Manchester<\/a>. Other posts preferred the prospect of missile attacks to being \u201cbombed by 50% taxes\u201d<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

These sorts of comments tend to mimic narratives pushed by far-right movements<\/a> in the west around crime, taxation and immigration.<\/p>\n

A viral trend concentrated in the UAE<\/a> but replicated across other Gulf countries<\/a> featured influencers responding to the question \u201cAren\u2019t you scared?\u201d with imagery of members of the ruling families and messages such as: \u201cNo, because I know who protects us.\u201d The UAE president\u2019s much-publicised walk in Dubai Mall<\/a> followed this paternalistic framing of security.<\/p>\n

After the initial shock, many influencers returned to the old form of messaging, not posting about the war and focusing on showing their privileged \u201ceveryday\u201d lives.<\/p>\n

Controlling the message<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important to remember that Gulf Arab regimes possess robust censorship apparatuses<\/a> and broad national security and anti-cybercrime laws that penalise content deemed to \u201ccause panic\u201d or \u201cdisturb public order\u201d. <\/p>\n

Authorities in Saudi Arabia were swift to remind residents that \u201cphotography serves the enemy\u201d<\/a>, banning unofficial sharing of damage caused by the war, while the UAE threatened severe sentences<\/a> for people posting negative messages. There have been reports<\/a> of people detained for posting the wrong content \u2013 more than 300 in Qatar alone<\/a>. Heightened security concerns exposed western expats to coercive practices typically reserved to political dissidents. <\/p>\n

Having invested efforts in insulating their domestic projects from external threats through seeking political accommodation with neighbours, including Iran, Gulf leaders may now pursue a different strategy. In fact, we\u2019re already seeing some different approaches<\/a> as various Gulf countries work out their own best approach to the changing situation in their region. Some, like Bahrain, remain hostile to Iran. Others, including Saudi Arabia, are more nuanced in their approach, looking overall to ensure security in the region. <\/p>\n

But for regimes and expats alike, this is a time of reckoning for the parameters sustaining \u201cnormality\u201d in the Gulf. Most certainly, the region will never be the same.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Javier Bord\u00f3n does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the US and Israel launched their strikes on Iran on February 28 and Iran retaliated by targeting the Gulf Arab states, I was closely monitoring social media accounts from the region. I research Middle East politics, with a focus on the Gulf, and the social media platforms I use are full of people living […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}