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After the United States carried out airstrikes on nuclear sites in Iran, social media platforms were flooded with manipulated videos, outdated photos, and false claims. According to Germany’s ARD news site tagesschau.de, much of this content has been proven to be unrelated to the actual events, either altered or taken out of context.
Only one verified video shows a bomb hitting the nuclear facility in Isfahan—yet dozens of misleading posts continue to circulate.
One widely shared video, viewed millions of times on X, shows a massive fireball lighting up the night sky. It was falsely presented as footage from the recent strike on Iran. However, reverse image searches confirmed that it actually depicts a Ukrainian drone attack on a weapons depot in Russia’s Tver region in September 2023.
Another video, showing a similar explosion, was wrongly linked to the Iran strikes. In fact, it shows an Israeli airstrike in Tartus, Syria, from December 2023.
A video showing large-scale protests in the U.S. was shared with claims that Americans were reacting to the Iran attacks. In reality, this footage was taken on June 14 during the “No Kings Day” protests against former President Donald Trump, long before the Iran operation.
According to Turkish media, a post that went viral falsely claimed: “BREAKING: Iran officially withdraws from IAEA. No more nuclear inspections.” However, Iran has not officially exited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) or the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Iran’s parliamentary National Security Commission has approved a draft bill to suspend cooperation with the IAEA, as reported by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency. But this bill must still be passed by the parliament before it becomes law.
A resignation letter allegedly written by President Masoud Pezeshkian and addressed to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has spread online. The letter claims Pezeshkian stepped down over recent U.S.-Israel attacks. However, no government source or trusted media outlet has confirmed the document’s authenticity.
Experts have identified inconsistencies in the letter’s format and signature, and it appears to have originated from accounts known for sharing false information.
A photo claiming to show a U.S. B-2 bomber downed in Iran also went viral. It was created with artificial intelligence. U.S. officials have confirmed that no bombers were lost in the operation and that all aircraft safely returned.
Claims that India allowed U.S. aircraft to pass through its airspace for the Iran operation are also false. According to India’s Ministry of External Affairs, no such request was made, and no permission was granted.
India’s Press Information Bureau described the claim as “fake,” and U.S. military officials confirmed the strike route went through Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq—not India.
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