‘Something just went off’: Canadians in Middle East describe ‘surreal’ Iran missile strikes

Canadians visiting and living in several Middle East countries are dealing with various emotions as Iran fires missiles in retaliation for the U.S. and Israel's bombardment.

“I don’t know if you just heard that, but it sounded like something just went off.”

Those are the words of Graison Foster, a Canadian living in Dubai, in an interview with Global News on Sunday as Iran was launching missiles at various Middle East countries.

The missile strikes are part of Iran’s retaliation as the U.S. and Israel continue their bombardment of the country, which led to the death of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

Iran has launched strikes at the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain and Israel, as well as several other nations in the region.

Foster told Global News she was getting out of her rental car Saturday night when she saw something.

“I saw something go over and I thought, ‘Huh, that’s interesting, what is that?’ And you know the sound when a jet goes over and you hear that (sound) and all of a sudden it was boom and the explosion hit,” she said.

She said the missile hit the Fairmont The Palm hotel located in the Palm Jumeirah, where she lives. Photos taken by Reuters on Sunday show damage to the hotel.

After the missile hit, Foster said people started filming and taking photos before a “bunch of missiles started to come over.”