Is Dubai Safe as RAF Jets Fly Defensive Missions and Starmer Balances Trump Call
With RAF fighter jets operating from Qatar and Cyprus to intercept incoming missiles and Britain advising its nationals to shelter, the question of is dubai safe has been raised amid airport closures and wider Gulf unrest. The moves matter because the UK has explicitly kept out of the first waves of US and Israeli strikes on Iran while quickly bolstering defensive deployments and consular support.
Trump call with Starmer and UK diplomatic posture
The White House instigated a brief phone call between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Downing Street's public readout said the two leaders "discussed the situation in the Middle East. " Britain, alongside France and Germany, did not participate in or endorse the initial US-Israeli strikes.
Starmer chaired an emergency COBRA meeting earlier on Saturday to shape the UK response. He has repeatedly condemned Iran's actions, describing the Iranian regime in televised remarks as "utterly abhorrent, " accused of murdering thousands, brutally crushing dissent, destabilising the region and posing a direct threat to the UK. He agreed with the stated rationale for action without expressing direct backing for the US strikes and stopped short of supporting regime change.
RAF jets and deployments from Qatar and Cyprus
Keir Starmer said RAF fighter jets were "in the sky today" to defend allies in the Middle East. The UK did not take part in the first waves of strikes on Saturday morning and has no immediate intention of doing so, but fighter jets have been operating from Qatar and Cyprus on defensive missions to shoot down incoming drones and missiles.
Last month the UK deployed RAF Typhoons to Qatar to protect al-Udeid airbase and other allied facilities. An extra six F-35s plus additional air-defence, radar and counter-drone systems were sent to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, from where they can be used to defend Israel, Jordan or other countries. The Ministry of Defence would not specify which countries or bases were being defended; British forces are present at several US bases in the region in small numbers.
It is understood British airbases were not used by the US air force as part of the attack. Earlier this month Starmer rejected a request from Donald Trump to use RAF bases in Diego Garcia and Fairford.
Is Dubai Safe: Airports, stranded travellers and consular response
Thousands of travellers were stranded after Iranian strikes forced airports to close, including in Dubai and Doha. British nationals in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates were advised to shelter in place following reports of missile attacks. The Foreign Office set up its "Register Your Presence" system across many Middle Eastern countries and advised against travel to Israel and Palestine.
Government officials made clear the immediate priority is the safety of UK nationals in the region and that consular assistance is available 24/7. Travel disruption — and the specific question of is dubai safe for travellers and residents — has become a live operational concern for ministers responsible for citizen welfare and for airports used as regional hubs.
Domestic political split and legal caution over bases
Domestic reaction has fallen largely along right–left lines. The Conservatives and Reform UK have criticised Starmer for what they call sitting on the fence and failing to offer sufficient support to the United States, for example by granting access to British bases. By contrast the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party have expressed scepticism about the US president's actions, while elements on the left urged a firmer denunciation of the strikes as "illegal. "
Ministers have stressed that British warplanes are operating defensively and "in line with international law, " and that legal concerns influenced decisions about making UK bases available.
Regional escalation, Hormuz risks and wider implications
The US and Israel have begun what has been described as a wide-ranging campaign aimed at regime change in Iran and at bombing its nuclear and missile sites; months of planning preceded the operation. Iran launched immediate counterstrikes against Israel and Jordan and struck US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Two ships were hit near the Strait of Hormuz, raising fresh worries about blockages in the 24-mile-wide waterway and the potential effect on inflation, interest rates and fuel costs.
In a joint statement with France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz, Starmer said: "We did not participate in these strikes, " while condemning Iranian attacks on countries in the region "in the strongest terms" and urging a negotiated solution. Government spokespeople reiterated that the UK does not want to see further escalation into a wider regional conflict and stressed that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon remains a UK objective.
What makes this notable is the timing: coming after an already tumultuous start to 2026 — with diplomatic crises involving Venezuela and Greenland and domestic controversies such as the Epstein files and Lord Mandelson — the strikes have intensified pressures on a government that ministers acknowledge faces large, not entirely knowable, consequences.
Catherine shared her first message entirely in Welsh for St David's Day, a separate note in a week dominated by security and diplomatic developments.
