CLAIM
Viral video shows Iranian missiles attacking Tel Aviv
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 to trace the original source.
Multiple users on various social media platforms since March 2, 2026, have been sharing a video allegedly showing Iranian missiles attacking Tel Aviv, Israel. However, the video is old from August 2015 and shows a massive explosion in China.
Israel and the United States launched joint military strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, significantly escalating tensions in the Middle East. President Donald Trump confirmed that the US had begun major combat operations, stating that the objective was to eliminate imminent threats from Iran and protect the American people.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — who had led the Islamic Republic for more than three decades — was killed in a strike in the early hours of Feb 28. The attack was carried out by the US and Israel, both of which had previously called for regime change in Tehran.
Iran condemned the strikes as unprovoked and illegal. In response, it launched missile attacks targeting Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US military bases, and vowed retaliation for Khamenei’s assassination.
HOW IT STARTED
On March 2, a pro-Iranian user on X posted a video, which shows a large explosion with intense orange and yellow flames and thick smoke billowing into the sky.
The caption read: “This is Tel Aviv. Thank you Iran!!”
The post garnered over 2.1 million views.
Another pro-Iranian account shared the same video, claiming: “Iran announced they attacked Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office and the residence of the air force commander - they suffered heavy damage.”
The post gained 1.1m views.
Another pro-Iranian account wrote: “Iran just launched one of its biggest missiles in this war,” gaining over 469,000 views.
A PTI supporter also circulated the video with the caption: “Missile attack has begun. Now the whole world will see how Israel is destroyed and devastated.”
The post was viewed more than 34,000 times.
Similarly, a PML-N supporter shared the video in the same context, with the post accumulating over 13,000 views.
The same claim was also shared on social media platforms Instagram and Facebook.
METHODOLOGY
A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran.
A reverse image search was conducted to check whether the viral clip was shared by any media outlets in their reporting of the attacks but yielded no results.
Instead, a news report was found published by BBC on August 14, 2015, titled “Video captures fear of China blast eyewitnesses”.
The report featured a longer version of the footage. At the 20-second mark, the visuals match the viral clip circulating online.
According to the report, the footage shows two massive explosions in Tianjin, China, filmed by eyewitness Dan van Duren. The blasts occurred after a warehouse storing hazardous materials caught fire, killing dozens and injuring hundreds. Authorities said at the time that they did not yet know the exact materials stored at the warehouse or the cause of the explosions.
Separately, BBC News also uploaded the same video on its YouTube channel dated August 13, 2015, titled “Tianjin explosion video captures fear of eyewitnesses – BBC News.”
Another US-based outlet, CBS Evening News, shared the same footage. The explosion was also reported by The Guardian.
FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE
The claim that a viral video shows Iranian missile attacks on Tel Aviv is false.
The video is old from August 2015 and shows a massive explosion in China.
EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES
August 14, 2015, BBC news report:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-china-33933352
August 13, 2015, BBC News YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/993wlZ6XFSs?si=iuo3D3y_zowKqYDb&t=24
August 13, 2015, CBS Evening News YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdmrAzOQ6x8
August 13, 2015, The Guardian news report:
MULTIPLE CLAIMS
At the same time, iVerify Pakistan observed multiple other claims regarding the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran. Here are more claims that were debunked by the platform.
- Viral video of Iranian missiles launched towards Israel — FALSE
On March 2, a PTI supporter, based on his past posts, shared a video allegedly showing missiles being launched into the sky. The caption read: “Iran has fired six hundred missiles towards Israel and released the video, Iran is close to victory.”
The post was viewed by more than 183,000 users.
Another user also shared the same video; his post gained over 600,400 views.
The same claim was also circulated by several other users on X. The posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
The same claim was also shared on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
A reverse image search yielded a YouTube video dated April 27, 2024, titled “Multiple Launch Rocket System at Night - Powerful MLRS Firing Drill - Military Simulation - ArmA 3.”
The video is 2:24-minutes long. The first 20 seconds match the viral clip circulating online.
According to the video description, the footage is a simulation created using the video game Arma 3. The description clearly states:
“This video is a created simulation in ArmA 3. I love to make these simulation videos … The graphics of ArmA 3 are very good, it almost looks like real life. Rather simulations than real war. I definitely don’t want to give the impression that I glorify war, I am just an enthusiastic gamer.”
Therefore, the claim that a viral video shows Iranian missiles being launched towards Israel is false. The video is from a military simulation video game, not real-life events.
- Viral video of Israelis fleeing after Iranian missile and drone attacks — FALSE
On March 3, a pro-Iranian account shared a video allegedly showing Israelis fleeing following Iranian missile and drone attacks. The caption read: “Just in: Israelis leaving their land after Iranian missiles and drones.”
The post was viewed by more than 346,000 people.
The same claim, with similar captions, was also circulated by several other users on Xk, as can be seen here, here, here and here.
A reverse image search yielded a TikTok video posted on June 19, 2025, by an account named “chris19100505”.
The caption of the original video read: “Explore Hellfest as a Solo Traveller in 2025. Discover the best places and camping tips for Hellfest 2025. Join the solo adventure!”
It also included the hashtags Hellfest, Camping and SoloTraveller. Hellfest is a heavy metal rock festival that is held annually in Clission, France.
Therefore, the claim that a viral video shows Israelis fleeing after Iranian missile and drone attacks is false. The footage is from June 2025 and is unrelated to the current tensions.
- Viral video of an American F-15 downed by Iran in Kuwait — FALSE
On March 2, a Pakistani user shared a video allegedly showing an American F-15 being shot down on X with the following caption: “Iran downs American F-15 jet in Kuwait.”
The post gained 10.3m views.
A PTI supporter shared the same video in the same context with the following caption: “Iran has released the video of shooting down the F-15 aircraft”
The post garnered 58,000 views.
The video was shared by multiple other users on X in the same context as can be seen here, here and here.
A reverse image search yielded the same video shared on TikTok on January 9, 2026, by a user who repeatedly shares similar gaming videos of jets neing shot down.
The post had the following hashtags: “Games, PUBG Mobile, and TikTok”, which indicates that the content is from a video game.
As can be seen from its past posts, the account routinely posts clips of aircraft and aerial manoeuvres rendered in a style closely resembling combat flight simulators, suggesting that the footage is not real-world combat but from a video game.
Therefore, the claim that a viral video shows an American F-15 downed by Iran in Kuwait is false. The clip is from a video game.
- Viral video of Iranian ballistic missiles arcing towards Tel Aviv — FALSE
On March 3, a pro-Palestinian user, based on his past posts, shared a video of a missile on X, claiming that Tel Aviv was being hammered by Iran.
The post gained 233,000 views.
The same video with similar claims was shared by another user, who appeared to be anti-Israel, with the following caption: “Looks like AI, but it’s real: Tel Aviv”.
The post gained 330,000 views.
Another Turkish user shared the same video in a similar context with the following caption: “Tel Aviv is being hit very severely.”
The post garnered 67,000 views.
The video with a similar claim was shared by multiple other users on TikTok; X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here; Facebook, as seen here, here, here and here. It collectively gained more than 95,000 views.
Clear inconsistencies were visible upon close inspection of the footage.
An explosion appears at one location without any incoming projectile striking it. Separately, a projectile can be seen descending and reaching the ground, but it does not produce any explosion. The blast and the projectile impact occur at different nearby locations and do not align, indicating likely digital manipulation.
An AI forensic analysis of the video showed that Hive Moderation labelled it as 74.2 per cent AI-generated.
Another AI detection tool, Decopy, labelled it as 100pc AI-generated.
Therefore, the claim that a viral video shows Iranian ballistic missiles arcing towards Tel Aviv is false. The clip is AI-generated.
- Viral video of Iranian missile attack on Burj Khalifa — FALSE
A video was shared on X by an Iranian account claiming to show fire at Burj Khalifa in Dubai after an alleged missile attack. “We fired 1,800 missiles at the Burj Khalifa. Every single missile hit the target,” reads the caption.
The post gathered 1.4m views.
Another Iranian account also shared the same video with a similar caption, garnering 8.6m views.
The same video was shared by several other users, including Indian accounts, as well, as can be seen here, here, here and here; collectively racking up millions of views.
A reverse image search yielded an X post dated March 2, 2026, which stated that the video was fake.
Analysing the clip with AI detection tool Truth Scan showed the video was flagged as 48pc fake. Similarly, Hive Moderation said the clip was likely to contain 99pc AI-generated or deepfake content.
A keyword search yielded a Reuters news report dated March 1, 2026, titled “Abu Dhabi complex housing embassies damaged as retaliatory strikes widen in Gulf”.
It stated that Dubai’s landmark Burj Al Arab hotel suffered damage in Iranian drone attacks. However, it did not mention anything about an attack on Burj Khalifa.
Therefore, the claim that a viral video shows Burj Khalifa on fire after being struck by Iranian missiles is false. The viral clip is AI-generated. Iran did strike UAE targets, causing damage in Dubai, but no major fire engulfed the Burj Khalifa.
- Video of Iranian missile attack in Israel — FALSE
A video was shared on X by a user who calls himself a podcast host in the bio, showing missiles falling down on buildings as thick smoke rises up in the air.
“Breaking: Brutal images from Israel show Iranian ballistic missiles destroying everything in their path. Iran showered Tel Aviv this morning with its ballistic projectiles that Israel’s air defence system cannot stop. The footage has been verified as genuine,” read the caption of the post, which racked up 16.1m views.
The same clip was also shared by Iran’s Press TV on X with the caption, “Iranian ballistic missiles hit Tel Aviv without being intercepted by Israel’s air defence system.”
The post gathered about 20,000 views. It was later deleted.
Other users on X, including pro-Iranian and Pakistani accounts, shared the video as well, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here and here; collectively garnering millions of views.
The clip was also widely circulated on other social media platforms, such as here, here and here on Instagram; and here, here, here, here and here on YouTube.
A keyword search was conducted to corroborate whether any credible mainstream international news outlets had shared or reported on the video, but yielded no results.
Inspecting the clip revealed several visual inconsistencies. Firstly, the missile trajectories appear unnaturally smooth, lacking the wobble, atmospheric distortion or burn patterns typically seen in authentic ballistic footage. Secondly, shadows and reflections in the video remain static or delayed rather than responding to the blast.
Furthermore, the streets appear eerily empty of any civilians while there are many cars parked on the road.
AI-detection tools indicated that the video was likely AI-generated. Hive Moderation assessed it as 89.5pc AI-generated, while Deepfake Detection gave it a 25pc forgery probability, citing “unnatural explosion dynamics”.
The photo was also analysed for SynthID — a watermark embedded in all content generated by Google’s AI tools — through Gemini.
“While it [the video] wasn’t made with Google AI, there are strong indications — both visual and contextual — that this video is a digital fabrication rather than authentic footage,” it said.
Therefore, the claim that a viral video shows Iranian ballistic missiles raining down on Israel is false. The viral clip is AI-generated.