CLAIM

Viral image of Iranian missile inscribed with Persian tribute to Epstein victims

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 source and ran it through forensic analysis tools to assess its authenticity.

Multiple people and accounts across social media platforms were sharing an image since March 11, 2026, allegedly showing an Iranian missile inscribed in Persian with a tribute to victims of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, the image is edited through AI.

Israel and the United States launched joint military strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other top officials. Tehran responded by launching strikes on US bases and other facilities in seven Gulf states and Israel.

As the conflict enters its 12th day, there has been no letup in attacks by Israel, Iran or the US, with explosions reported in Qom and Tehran, hours after Israeli attacks on oil facilities caused toxic smoke across the Iranian capital. On the other hand, Iran’s Assembly of Experts has named Mojtaba Khamenei to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader.

A commonly repeated criticism against US President Donald Trump has been that the war was launched to divert attention from his presence in the Epstein files.

HOW IT STARTED

The iVerify Pakistan team was alerted on March 11 about an Instagram post and requested authentication for the content.

On March 11, Pakistani digital media outlet Dialogue Pakistan shared an image on Instagram and Facebook showing a missile inscribed in Persian, which translates to “In memory of the victims of Epstein Island”.

The caption reads: “Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly released an image of a missile with the inscription: ‘In memory of the victims of Epstein Island’.“

The posts were collectively liked by 74,400 users.

The image with a similar context was shared by a pro-Palestinian user on X with the following caption: “‘In memory of the victims of Epstein Island.’ Written on an Iranian missile.”

The post gained 540,000 views.

Another pro-Palestinian user shared the same image with a similar caption, garnering 340,000 views.

A pro-Iranian user also shared the same image, gaining 108,000 views.

The Indian chapter of Russian media outlet RT also shared the same image with a similar claim on X.

The same image in a similar context was shared by several other users on X, as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here; collectively gaining 200,000 views.

The claim was also viral on LinkedIn, Instagram, as seen here, here and here; and on Facebook, as seen here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

The posts collectively gained 25,000 likes.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality, to satisfy the public’s request seeking authentication for the claim, and keen public interest in the US-Israel war with Iran and the Epstein files.

A reverse image search was conducted to corroborate whether the IRGC had actually shared such an image and yielded a YouTube short by an account on Feb 6, 2026, showing the same Khorramshahr 4 ballistic missile image without any Persian inscription.

The short was titled: “Iranian Khorramshahr-4 ballistic missile spotted inside underground missile city”.

A blurred image of the same missile was also shared on Feb 4 on X with the following caption: “Breaking: Iran’s Khorramshahr‑4 ballistic missile (also called Kheibar) was seen publicly for the first time deep inside a missile facility, revealing one of Tehran’s most capable ground‑to‑ground weapons. This medium‑range ballistic missile is estimated to have a 2,000-kilometre range and carry a 1,500-kilogram warhead, putting critical infrastructure and military targets across the region within reach. It’s powered by liquid fuel for rapid launch and represents a significant element of Iran’s expanding missile arsenal.”

Further shares of the same image without the text in February 2026 can be seen here, here and here. However, even this image was not found on any official Iranian media outlets, accounts or channels.

Analysing the image with the Persian text through AI detection tools showed that Truth Scan flagged it as 65 per cent AI-edited.

Undetectable also flagged it as 65pc AI.

Furthermore, running the photo through Google’s Gemini showed that it contained a SynthID, an invisible watermark meant to identify images made with Google AI.

Similarly, the image without the text was also flagged by the tools as being AI-generated.

Hive Moderation flagged it as 64pc AI-generated and mentioned Gemini 3.0 as the source of the image, while Truth Scan labelled it as 57pc AI-generated content.

Running the image on Gemini also showed that the majority, if not all, was generated through it.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim that a viral image shows an Iranian missile inscribed with a Persian tribute to Epstein victims is false.

The image is an edited version of an AI-generated image.

EVIDENCE AND REFERENCES

February 06, 2026, YouTube short:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yeuOUdzeCNM

February 04, 2026, X post:
https://x.com/Defence_Index/status/2019081560369320417