CLAIM

Viral video of Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi admitting that India shared the location of an Iranian naval ship with Israel, leading to its destruction

RATING JUSTIFICATION

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

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted an audio forensic analysis and performed a reverse image search to identify the original source of the footage.

Multiple accounts on social media platform X on March 9, 2026, shared a video claiming that it allegedly shows Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi admitting that India informed Israel about the location of an Iranian naval ship, which was later destroyed. However, the clip is doctored.

The video is claimed to show General Dwivedi speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, where he allegedly stated that once an Iranian naval vessel moved into international waters, India informed Israel about its location as part of a strategic agreement. The remarks have circulated widely amid heightened geopolitical tensions involving Israel, Iran and their regional allies.

On March 4, 2026, an Iranian naval frigate, the IRIS Dena, was sunk in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka while returning from a multinational naval event hosted by India. The vessel had participated in the International Fleet Review 2026 and the MILAN naval exercise in Visakhapatnam before departing Indian waters and sailing through international waters on its way back to Iran.

A United States submarine torpedoed the ship roughly 19 nautical miles off Sri Lanka’s southern coast, killing dozens of sailors and triggering a major diplomatic backlash from Tehran. The incident occurred amid escalating regional tensions linked to the broader US–Israeli military campaign against Iran, raising concerns that the conflict in the Middle East was expanding into the wider Indian Ocean region.

HOW IT STARTED

On March 9, a pro-military account shared a video of X with the following caption: “Breaking News: General Upendra Dwivedi at Raisina Dialogue explains the Iranian Naval incident, ‘Iranian naval ship being sunk is indeed unfortunate but it was done in international waters. As long the Iranian ship remained in Indian waters, they remained protected but when they crossed the international waters, as Israeli strategic allies, it was our duty to inform Israel about their exact location as a part of our newer strategic deal.’”

The post gained 3,006 views.

The transcript of the video is provided below:

“We are closely monitoring the situation in Iran. Israel is our close ally. Iranian naval ship being sunk is indeed unfortunate, but it was done in international waters. As long the Iranian ship remained in Indian waters, they remained protected, but when they crossed the international waters, as Israeli strategic allies, it was our duty to inform Israel about their exact location as a part of our newer strategic deal. So, you are wrong to assume that Iranian naval ships were destroyed within Indian territory. What Israel does in international waters is their business. We can provide Israel with location or intelligence, but we had no part in Israeli and US joint torpedo attack. They did their business. It is Iran’s war and India has nothing to do with it. Our focus remains on Pakistan and Israel will help us in achieving that goal. We remain grateful to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for helping us seek permission of importing Russian fuel.“

Another account on X shared the same video the same day with the following caption: “The Indian betrayal stabbed in the back! India confesses it betrayed Iran by leaking the location of an Iranian ship to Israel, leading to its total destruction! General Upendra Dwivedi at the Raisina Dialogue admitted the treachery: ‘It was our duty to inform Israel about their exact location as part of our newer strategic deal.’ The mask has fallen. India has officially chosen to serve the Zionist entity over its neighbours!”

The post gained 41,800 views.

The same video was also shared by several other pro-military and pro-Iranian accounts on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, 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 circumstances of the Iranian ship’s sinking, which created a controversy in India itself, with the opposition and social media users criticising the government for it.

A keyword search was conducted to corroborate whether any credible Indian, Pakistani or international media outlets had reported such remarks, but yielded no results.

The audio in the clip itself does not sound like how a person would speak at an event. It rather sounds like someone speaking directly into a mic or a voiceover.

The audio of the clip was analysed using forensic tool Fake-O-Meter, which suggested a deepfake probability of 47.3 per cent.

In addition, AI detection tool Hive Moderation flagged the video as 99.9pc AI-generated, indicating a high likelihood that the footage had been digitally manipulated.

Similarly, UndetectableAI flagged the video as 99pc AI generated.

A reverse image search subsequently yielded the original video of General Upendra Dwivedi speaking at the Raisina Dialogue 2026, posted on March 7, 2026, by Indian media outlet Firstpost on YouTube, under the title: “India’s Army Chief Speaks on Op Sindoor, Pakistan and Future of Warfare | Raisina Dialogue 2026.”

In the original video, General Dwivedi spoke about lessons from Operation Sindoor, India’s evolving military doctrine and the future of warfare. He emphasised India’s policy of responding to terrorism, discussed organisational changes in the Indian Army, including integrated battle groups, tactical commandos and the Shaktiman drone system, and highlighted emerging domains such as cyber operations, data-centric warfare and artificial intelligence. He also addressed India’s two-front security challenge involving China and Pakistan and stressed the importance of preparedness.

At no point in the original address did General Dwivedi mention sharing the location of the Iranian naval ship with Israel.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral video shows Indian Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi admitting that India informed Israel about the location of an Iranian naval ship is false.

The video is doctored and has been dubbed over through AI.

EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES

March 7, 2026, FirstPost YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_65QdIzu6tA