‘Iran attack’ video compilation mostly shows unrelated events from other countries

A video compilation has been shared online with false claims it shows recent attacks on Israel. All but one of the clips predate these attacks and were filmed in Ukraine, Chile and Argentina. 

The compilation was posted to Instagram on 14 April with the caption: “Breaking Iran, Iraq & Lebanon blast rockets into Israel!”

Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel on the night of 13 April in an attack Iranian forces described as a “retaliation” against Israel bombing its consulate in Damascus, Syria, on 1 April. 

Projectiles were also fired at Israel from Iraq, Syria and Yemen on 13 April. The Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, Hezbollah—which has been exchanging attacks with Israel since October 2023—also reportedly fired rockets at an Israeli military base. 

The first clip in the compilation, which we’ve also seen circulate separately, shows two large explosions with overlaid text saying: “Large explosion in Tel Aviv”. As we’ve written before, this actually shows a Ukrainian missile attack on Russian ships in Crimea.

Footage shared by the Telegraph on 24 March 2024 includes the same clip, and the newspaper reported Ukrainian military as saying they had hit two Russian warships, a communications centre and several infrastructure facilities belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet. 

We could not find any reports suggesting buildings in Tel Aviv were hit during Iran’s attack on 13 April, though explosions were reportedly heard over the city. 

The next clip in the compilation shows fires in the distance with trees, a road and people visible in the foreground, and the sound of someone crying. But this video was shared online as early as 4 February 2024 with the caption (translated by Google): “FIRE VALPARAISO REGION, Achupallas, Viña del Mar,” which is an area in Chile. Deadly wildfires killed over 100 people in the region in early February. A watermark visible in other versions of the video is of a TikTok user who has ‘Viña del Mar’ in their bio, which is where these fires began. 

Moreover, Full Fact has already written about the third clip appearing in the compilation, which shows crowds of people running and screaming. This video predates the attack on Israel and was shared online as early as 6 April 2024. It shows fans of the British musician Louis Tomlinson outside a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina—not people in Israel running during the attack as suggested. 

There is one final clip in the compilation that Full Fact has not been able to verify. It shows missiles being launched into the night sky with overlaid text saying: “A heavy barrage of missiles from Lebanon towards Israel coinciding with the Iranian attack”. We have not seen any versions of this clip being shared online before 13 April.

We’ve seen multiple other examples of miscaptioned images and videos falsely claiming to show these events. For tips on how to verify video content before you share it, read our guide. You can also find more of our work checking claims relating to the Middle East on our website. 

Image courtesy of Japanexperterna