India, March 2 -- Pavel Durov, the billionaire founder of Telegram, has sparked a discussion online after claiming that Dubai is "statistically safer" than Europe, even as Iranian missiles and drones targeted the UAE city over the weekend.

In a post on X, Durov wrote, "Unfortunately, I had to leave Dubai for Europe a week ago - so I'm not only missing the free fireworks from Iran, but also exposing myself to greater risk. Given Europe's crime rates, Dubai is statistically safer even with missiles flying. Can't wait to be back."

His remarks came days after Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones targeting Dubai in retaliation for strikes by the United States and Israel that killed Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

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