A barrage of Iranian strikes has caused havoc across the Gulf, shattering the aura of peace so highly prized by the oil-rich region’s wealthy rulers, AFP reports.

Missiles streaked across clear desert skies as smoke plumed from US bases in Manama and Abu Dhabi and loud thuds shook high-rise windows in Dubai.

In Qatar, dozens of people fled in panic as a falling missile plunged into a residential neighbourhood, erupting in a fireball as it hit the street.

And in UAE’s Abu Dhabi, golfers enjoying a quiet round were stunned to see dozens of projectiles flying overhead.

Given their reputation for calm, today’s sudden attacks on US military bases caused widespread shock among the Gulf’s diverse, expat-heavy populations.

In Dubai, residents looked up to see missiles surge through the sky.

“It was a rumble and then a bang,” one resident told AFP, asking not to be named.