New Delhi, March 4 -- In 2016, Pranav Doshi, then an executive with the Canadian consulate, decided to move 2,000 kilometres away from their home in Mumbai. Doshi's wife was given an option to choose between Unilever Plc's London and Dubai offices, and she picked the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. "We selected Dubai because we had a young child, and wanted family support; that was not possible in London," said Doshi, 47. "Our parents could come and go, childcare was better in Dubai, and there was never any identity crisis."

As Doshi spoke over the phone on Monday, everything appeared calm. But just the day before, five Iranian drones had dropped near his home. Doshi's wife is now a marketing consultant, and he works as a direc...