India, March 1 -- Maya Taneja, a Dubai resident, panicked after hearing loud explosions and frantically started calling friends and relatives on Saturday.

"In the middle of my enquiries, checking on people, I received a call from my brother-in-law in Bahrain. He too had heard explosions in his vicinity. It seems the entire region is on fire," she said. Taneja was not alone. In a day of dramatic developments following the Israel-US joint attack on Iran, the entire Gulf region braced for a nightmare they had anticipated for months but never experienced.

As Tehran launched simultaneous missiles across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Qatar, civilians took shelter and mostly remained indoors.

Neda Sayed, an Indian AI consultant...