Visit to the future of the third Gulf War

Special correspondent to Dubai (United Arab Emirates)The day after the night when an entire civilization was about to be annihilated, a robot-man and a robot-dog were doing somersaults in Dubai. Tourists were photographing them as they waited to enter the future. The future has been very dizzying these days in the Gulf countries. The uncertain future of the Gulf is still dizzying.

The civilization that was supposed to die was not this one. It was that of the other side of the sea, the Persian one, the 93 million people who live in Iran. “An entire civilization will die tonight, without any possibility of recovery”, Donald Trump had said. there is a queue to enter Dubai's main attractions. In wartime, entry is immediate.

“Is outer space Trump-proof?”, a Polish tourist asked. The guide ignored the comment. The group of tourists was very small. Calculators like that of the World Travel & Tourism Council have determined that the bombs have caused a loss of about 515 million euros per day to the Gulf economies. In peacetime, there is a queue to enter Dubai's main attractions. In wartime, entry is immediate.

Yesterday it was difficult to interpret the future. The world's capitals celebrated the pact, because, effectively, it has avoided an infernal escalation. But the pact presented cracks, and soon it seemed fragile: Israel was cruelly attacking Lebanon by dropping 160 bombs in ten minutes; Tehran continued bombing the Gulf monarchies. The Arab capitals fear that, like Beirut, they have been left out of the temporary ceasefire agreement. The Arab capitals must not be very happy with Washington: they insisted until the last minute and now they might feel abandoned in the face of an emboldened Tehran.“Sir, you can ask him any question and he will answer it”, another worker at the Museum of the Future in Dubai told me.I had to ask the question to a robot that spoke. The android was the main attraction of a hall that simulated what the cities of tomorrow will be like: flying taxis, driverless cars, and clothes that adapt to the outside temperature. In a video, the Dubai of the future was projected. The sky was full of drones delivering groceries to your home.

During these five weeks of war, they have even flown over the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper in the world and a symbol of the Emirates.

The worker insisted that I ask the robot a question.–According to the press, who has won with the ceasefire in Iran?–I'm sorry, I don't have access to live information. I cannot answer this question.

–Who is Donald Trump?

–Donald Trump is a businessman, a television personality, and was the 45th president of the United States.

The future is out of date.

Dalí and Picasso in Tehran

Hours before the ultimatum, Gulf governments harbored a great fear: that Trump's hell over Tehran would become the ayatollahs' hell over their cities. Since February 28, Iran has bombed the petromonarchies daily in an attempt to add more international pressure to the White House. More than the bombs – the vast majority intercepted by defense systems that have surprised the world – the region's concern is the survival of its slogan: oases of peace and stability guaranteeing economic prosperity. The day dawned with relief, but yesterday's wave of bombings, with the temporary ceasefire already in effect, disconcerted the Persian capitals.The Emirati monarchy's first reaction to the truce was positive. “We have triumphed in a war we sincerely wanted to avoid. We have prevailed thanks to an epic national defense that has safeguarded sovereignty and dignity in the face of treacherous aggression.” The war has increased national pride.

Hours later, the UAE's Ministry of Defense reported Tehran's "flagrant" offensive with the launch of 17 missiles and 35 drones. In total, the ayatollahs have launched 560 missiles and 2,256 drones against Emirati territory since the war began, an average of 72 projectiles per day. It is not clear why

the UAE has become the most attacked country in the region.

The scene last night in the luminous heart of Dubai was identical to the previous night, hours before the ultimatum expired: streets, shopping centers, and restaurants were quite full. Some skyscrapers rewarded passersby with colorful laser shows. The population coexists with total normality with the war, which is barely heard, barely seen. Most people prefer not to talk about the war.

The Museum of the Future also did not talk about war.

"Don't you have any exhibition of what future weaponry will be like?" I asked one of the guides. He said no, not a trace. The museum imagines a world at peace. The great cities of the Gulf, and especially Dubai, had been conceived for a future also without war.

On the other side of the sea and the war, the most important museum in Tehran is not about the future. It is contemporary art. There are works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Warhol, Dalí, Monet, or Matisse. Before the Islamic Revolution of 1979, in the 1960s and 70s, during the reign of the Shah, Iran invested insistently in international art and bought relevant works from the Western market. The museum opens every day from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon. There are no works from the Stone Age, which is the future that Trump promised them.