A video from the U.S invasion in Iraq in 2003 shared as ongoing tensions in Iraq and Israel

A video from the U.S invasion in Iraq in 2003 shared as ongoing tensions in Iran and Israel

Conflict Zone Fact Check en

A video is going viral on the popular social media platform X. In the video, heavy bomb blasts and explosives are visible as ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel. A user on platform X posted the video from the account named ‘@iGazaNews’. The account posted the video with the caption “Are you enjoying Iran’s Reply??”.

A video from the U.S invasion in Iraq in 2003 shared as ongoing tensions in Iran and Israel

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Another account named ‘@ShafiqAhmadAdv3’ shared the video with the caption “Residents near Rawalpindi GHQ, take precautions and shift to safe locations because who knows if Iran, mistaking it for a U.S. base like the one in Qatar, might fire a missile at it. But then again, it practically is a U.S. base since it fights America’s wars for dollars.”

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Fact Check

DFRAC conducted a detailed research of the viral video. The video turned out to be MISLEADING. When we searched for the viral claim on Google, we found no official news of Iran’s bombardment of Israel last night. We also searched for any such claim on the official social media handles of both the Iranian and Israeli governments, but found no similar information.

However, when we conducted a reverse image search of the keyframes of the video on Google Images, we found similar clips. A YouTube channel named ‘@ITNArchive’ posted the original clip on March 21, 2023.

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The video was posted with the caption “Iraq War: Shock and Awe Assault on Baghdad Begins (2003)”. We searched for any information to confirm the authenticity of the video on Google. We found an article published on Google by Environmental Justice TV, which confirmed the authenticity of the original video. The article informs that the YouTube channel ‘INTArchive’ posted the video to mark the completion of 20 years since the “Shock and Awe” assault on Iraq by the U.S.

Conclusion

Hence, it is confirmed that the video is not of the ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel. The video is from the Iraqi capital of Baghdad as the “shock and awe” phase of the US-led air campaign got underway in 2003.