Video of Saudi defence minister getting scared, fleeing due to crackers at his arrival at Riyadh’s Chinese embassy

Rating Justification

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

To reach the conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted the reverse image and a keyword search to find the original source.

Posts from multiple users on social media platforms since January 6, 2025, shared a video, claiming it showed Saudi Arabia’s defence minister being scared by crackers during a visit to the Chinese embassy. However, the video is from a mock military drill in Kuwait.

HOW IT STARTED

On Jan 15, the iVerify Pakistan team was alerted by the public about a video circulating on the messaging platform WhatsApp featuring a man in traditional Saudi attire with a white keffiyeh headdress with the claim that he was the country’s defence minister who was spooked by crackers going off during a visit to the Chinese embassy.

The message was accompanied by the caption: “The Saudi defence minister visited the Chinese embassy in Riyadh but the Chinese Embassy did not inform him that crackers would be set off to welcome him.”

The video and the same caption were shared across other social media platforms, including Facebook here, here, here and here, as well as on X here, here, here and here.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the affairs of Saudi Arabia and China.

A reverse image search yielded a video on an Arabic YouTube channel dated December 12, 2024, titled: “Training of the royal guard at the exhibition grounds … This is how situations are handled when gunfire is directed at prominent figures.”

A Jan 5 X post was also found with the caption: “Amiri guards shows how they handle when a VIP is shot. Gulf Defence and AVSON exhibition on December 12, 2019.

A keyword search for “Gulf Defence Exhibition 2019” yielded a video of the same scene from another angle shared on X by Saudi-based outlet Al Hadath with the following caption: “Gulf Defence and Aerospace Exhibition | Amiri Guards Mock Military Show” on December 12, 2019.

Highlights from the exhibition were also posted on the official Instagram account of Kuwait’s army, including the clip of the scene with the following caption: “Part of the Amiri Guard Authority’s show that was implemented during the fifth Gulf Defence and Aviation Exhibition, which was held during the period from December 10-12, 2019 at the Mishref Exhibition Grounds.”

The Amiri Guard is an elite protection unit of Qatar’s military. The Gulf Defence and Aviation Exhibition is a leading bi-annual defence, security and military trade show.

Its fifth edition was held in December 2019 at the Kuwait International Fair Grounds in the Mishref neighbourhood.

It is pertinent to note that the same video with the same and different captions was shared across social media platforms periodically in the past and was fact-checked by credible outlets such as AFP and Reuters.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a video shows the Saudi defence minister recoiling in fear and fleeing after crackers go off to welcome him at the Chinese embassy in Riyadh is false.

The video is from a mock military drill in Kuwait during the Gulf Defence and Aviation Exhibition held in December 2019.

Evidence and References

December 12, 2019, Al Hadath X post:
https://x.com/AlhadathQ8/status/1205192184812752899

December 11, 2019, Kuwait army Instagram post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B6IIZHiFQaD/