The day when Dubai was on tenterhooks

It was supposed to be a quiet Saturday. What unfolded in the Middle East region, though surprising, was not entirely unexpected.

As usual, my wife and I took our daughter to a weekend class at the Chinese School Dubai. While waiting, we opened our laptops to catch up on work — a habit we've developed over years of always being prepared. Within minutes, our phones buzzed simultaneously with a push notification: Israel announced it had launched the so-called "preemptive strikes" against Iran.