Migrant workers bear brunt of Iran attacks in Gulf

Migrant workers in the Gulf face deadly repercussions from Iran's retaliatory attacks, highlighting their vulnerability amid escalating conflict.

Bangladeshi migrant Ahmad Ali (55) was doing his regular round delivering drinking water to residents in the United Arab Emirates when Iran launched its first retaliatory attacks against Gulf countries.

Debris from a missile strike tore through his delivery van, killing him instantly and ending his three decades spent in the Emirates.

"My dad told my cousin he would be back soon," Ali's son Abdul Hoque said from Barlekha in eastern Bangladesh. "But those were his last words. He died instantly when his van was hit."

Since February 28, Tehran has launched wave after wave of missile and drone attacks against the Gulf states in retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.

In a region home to more than 35 million migrant workers, mostly from South Asia, many of those killed have been foreign labourers filling the lowest-paid roles in Gulf economies.

Among fourteen civilians killed in the Gulf since the conflict began, according to an AFP tally, eight were foreign nationals from Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and India.