Viral video of Dubai International Airport after attack amid Israel-Iran conflict

RATING JUSTIFICATION

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan analysed the footage using AI detection tools.

Multiple users on social media platform X shared a video on March 3, 2026, showing an alleged Iranian attack on Dubai International Airport and claming that it was rendered inoperational. However, the video is doctored and the airport continues limited operations.

On February 28, 2026, Israel and the US launched joint military strikes on Iran — killing 555 civilians. US President Donald Trump claimed attacks on Iran could last 4-5 weeks; however, America has the capability to “go far longer”.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a strike on February 28. Meanwhile, his wife Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh passed away on March 2, after she sustained injuries during the joint US-Israel air strike.

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.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 3, a Saudi user shared a video on social media platform X, with the following caption: “We belong to Allah, and to Him we shall return. Dubai airport has become completely out of service. May God protect the emirates.”

The post gained three million views.

Another user shared the same video on X on March 3, 2026, with similar captions, gaining 3.9m views.

Several other users, including pro-Indian accounts, also shared the same video on X and YouTube as can be seen here, here, here, and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality, concern about the operations of Dubai airport and keen public interest in the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.

A keyword search conducted to determine whether any credible international or Emirate media outlets had reported any attack on Dubai International Airport yielded a March 1, 2026, CNN news article titled: “Passengers flee smoke-filled Dubai airport as Iran attacks major Gulf travel hubs”.

As per the report, the airport was attacked by Iran on the same date with locations around it attacked as well.

However, reports by BBC and Al Jazeera on March 3, 2026, stated that contrary to the viral claims about the airport being out of service, limited flights had resumed. No reports were found about the airport being entirely inoperational.

A passenger advisory by the operator also said that limited airport operations had resumed as of March 2, 2026.

A reverse image search was subsequently conducted to check whether the viral clip was shared by any media outlets in their reporting of the attacks on the airport but yielded no results.

The video itself presents several discrepancies. The aircraft appears to resemble an Emirates plane based on the flag on its tail but the name of the airline does not appear clear or legible — a typical sign of text in AI-generated videos.

The text itself does not match the name of the carrier.

Analysing the video using AI detection tools showed that Hive Moderation flagged it as being 88.3 percent AI-generated.

Sightengine flagged it as being 49pc AI-generated.

These findings indicate that the video is digitally manipulated and doctored.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that Dubai International Airport was struck by Iranian missiles and is out of service is false.

No credible reports support the alleged attack, and the viral video shows strong indicators of AI-generated content.

EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES

March 3, 2026, BBC news report:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3v7ele1k4zo

March 3, 2026, Al-Jazeera news report:

https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/3/3/uae-resumes-limited-flights-amid-travel-chaos-across-middle-east

March 2, 2026, Dubai Airport passenger advisory:

https://dubaiairports.ae/