Viral Video Does Not Show Iranian Attack on Israel In June 2025

Photo: Raskrinkavanje.ba In a new escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, on June 13, 2025, Israel launched a series of military attacks on Iran, targeting nuclear, military and other facilities in this country. Later that day, Iran retaliated  by launching a large number of ballistic missiles at Israel. The conflicts continued over the following days, with global and regional media closely following developments in the conflict between the two countries (1, 2). Alongside extensive media coverage, various photos and videos from this region appeared online on the same day. Among them was a video of the rocket launch which was published by social media users and several portals, with claims and implications that it showed Iran launching missiles at Israel in the evening of June 13, 2025  June 13, 2025 (1, 2, 3). Referring, among others, to the publication of this video on platform X in English, the website Srbija Danas published an article on June 13 suggesting that the footage showed a current attempt to breach the “Iron Dome“, Israel’s air defense system. Along with the claims that the Iron Dome was overpowered, Dnevni Avaz also published footage from the aforementioned video on June 13. Stating that this air defense system failed to stop all the missiles, the same video was also published that day in an article in Jutarnji list. The footage from this video was also published by the portal Alo, referencing a social media post and stating that “X users claim Iranians targeted a nuclear facility” in the Israeli city of Dimona. Clips from the mentioned video were published in articles by other regional portals as well (1, 2, 3).

What are the Facts?

The viral video was shared outside of the region too, with claims that it showed recent events in the Middle East, specifically, scenes from the renewed conflict between Israel and Iran. However, a quick look at the post on platform X in English from June 13, that was also shared in articles by some of the regional portals, shows a context note added by readers, stating that the video had been previously published. This note includes links to earlier social media posts that prove the video has been circulating online since at least October 2024 (1, 2, 3). Fact-checking platforms have published several analyses of this viral video in recent days, consistently stating that it was not recorded in June 2025 and is unrelated to the current conflict between Israel and Iran (1, 2, 3, 4). Additionally, these platforms point out that the same video has been used in different contexts, some posts even claiming it showed an Israeli attack on Iran. Although the exact origin and recording date of the video remain unknown, what is certain is that it does not depict the recent conflict between Iran and Israel. It was already being shared in October 2024, shortly after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel on October 1 of last year. At that time, media outlets reported that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated the attack was in retaliation for the assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Media reports from that period stated that two people were killed as a result of the missile strikes (1, 2). On October 26, Israel launched airstrikes on Iran, and the Israeli military then announced the strikes were “in response to continued attacks by the Iranian regime on the State of Israel.” Based on the facts above, the claims made on websites and social media that this 2024 video shows a missile attack on Tel Aviv or the city of Dimona in June 2025 are rated as manipulation of facts. (Author: Elma Murić, Raskrinkavanje.ba)