Iran

Did Ali Khameini, Supreme Leader of Iran, post a congratulatory message on X.com, telling New York mayoral primary election winner Zohran Mamdani "Our work has only just begun"? No, that's not true: The owner of the account where the post first appeared followed it up with a comment that reads: "In case it wasn't obvious, I made it up." Khameini's…

Did WWE issue an announcement saying that a World Wrestling Entertainment event scheduled for June 28, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, "will proceed as planned"? No, that's not true: What looked like a statement from the organization was first published on meme and satire pages. As of this writing, WWE hadn't cancelled the event, but also hadn't confirmed that its…

Does a viral video document Iranian missiles being made ready for an imminent launch? No, that's not true: It's an AI-generated video. Several visual artifacts call attention to the kinds of inconsistencies and illogical details found in AI images. Also, the missiles shown do not visually match any of the 25 missile systems Iran had as of June, 2025, according…

Did Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly announce his resignation from office as of June 23, 2025? No, that's not true: As of this writing, no such dispatches appeared on websites of credible news outlets. The website of the Iranian president made no such public announcement. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X on June 22, 2025.…

Did a video really show a B2 bomber landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier? No, that's not true: The video, which went viral in the wake of the U.S. bombing Iranian nuclear plants with such planes in June 2025, appeared on a TikTok channel that publishes video game footage. It appeared there months before the strikes on Iran…

Do viral images authentically document fires in Tel Aviv, Israel, in the aftermath of Iranian strikes during the June 2025 escalation of the conflict? No, that's not true: The set that purported to show a badly damaged building of a government-owned Israeli defense company displayed a wrong logo. No credible media organization published any of the images while reporting on…

Does a viral video document U.S. Army soldiers deploying to Iran on June 22, 2025? No, that's not true: The post provides no evidence where those soldiers are going, nor when. No Army deployments have been documented by evidence-based news sites and neither the White House nor Congress have announced U.S. troops will be sent to Iran. The video was…

Does a video authentically show a lightning strike during a nuclear blast at an Iranian nuclear facility during a U.S. bombing attack on June 22, 2025? No, that's not true: While Lead Stories cannot confirm whether the video is real or AI-generated, the same video was shared online at least two days before the U.S. attack on three nuclear facilities…

Did a video shared widely in June 2025 show a real military base under Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel? No, that's not true: The computer-generated animation began as a satirical reference to earlier Israeli claims about the hiding of missiles in civilian contexts. The hospital was hit by an Iranian missile strike on June 19. The claim appeared in…

Did a video of a large crowd walking through the streets of a city show people fleeing Tel Aviv en masse in June 2025? No, that's not true: The clip was recorded in Russia. It showed an annual pilgrimage organized by the Russian Orthodox Church. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on June 19, 2025. It…