Viral video of fire from Iranian drone attack on US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

RATING JUSTIFICATION

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a reverse image search and a keyword search to trace the original video.

Multiple users and accounts on social media platforms X, Instagram, and Facebook shared a video on March 1, 2026, claiming it showed Iran’s drone attack on the United States embassy in Riyadh. However, the video shows no such attack and is old.

On February 28, 2026, Israel and the US launched joint military strikes on Iran, assassinating supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. At least 555 civilians have been killed so far in Israeli and US attacks, according to the Iranian Red Cross

US President Donald Trump claimed attacks on Iran could last 4-5 weeks, but at the same time added that America had the capability to “go far longer”. In response, Iran launched missile attacks targeting Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states hosting US military bases, vowing retaliation for Khamenei’s assassination.

On March 3, Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry confirmed that the US embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones. It said the strike on the US embassy caused “minor material damage” to the compound.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 3, a podcaster shared a video on X showing black smoke erupting from a fire with the caption: “Breaking: Massive explosion at US embassy, Riyadh.”

The post gained 2.3 million views.

A local Brazilian media outlet also shared the same video with the following caption: “Now: Iran blows up the United States embassy in Saudi Arabia.”

The post accumulated 840,000 views.

An Indian account shared the same clip along with a similar caption, gaining 48,000 views.

Another user shared the clip on Instagram with the following caption: “Iran has just bombed the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia.”

The post gained 174,000 views.

Local Iraqi media outlet KNN also shared the clip, saying: “Saudi Arabia; An Iranian missile has landed on a public street south of the Saudi capital Riyadh.”

The post gained 20,000 views.

The clip with a similar context was shared by several other users on Instagram, as can be seen here and here; on X, as can be seen here, here, here and here, on Facebook, as can be seen here; collectively gaining 122,000 views.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the fallout of Iran’s conflict with the US and Israel.

A reverse image search was conducted to check whether the viral clip was shared by any credible international, American or Saudi media outlets in their reporting of the attack, but yielded no results.

Instead, a YouTube video was found dated February 6, 2026, confirming that the incident took place well before the embassy attack and was unrelated to it.

Subsequent investigation yielded a TikTok video shared on Feb 23, 2026.

The team found that the US embassy in Riyadh is located at Al Safarat, Abdullah Ibn Hudhafah As Sahmi Street, Roundabout No 9, with a road beside it that is lined with trees in the middle. The viral video, on the other hand, shows a fire incident on a highway without any trees.

Lastly, Saudi journalist Hussain Al-Ghawi, too, said in a March 3, 2026, post on X that the viral video was unrelated to Iran’s drone strike and was an older clip of a truck on fire.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows fire from an Iranian drone attack on the US embassy in Riyadh is false.

The clip is old and shows a truck on fire.

EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES:

Feb 6, 2026, YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/uvj0FAOY3H4

Feb 23, 2026, TikTok video:

https://archive.md/sV3MR

March 3, 2026, X post:

https://x.com/halgawi/status/2028631473884938270