Iran

Was former D.C. police officer Michael Fanone, who responded to the January 6, 2021, insurrection, a young Iranian hired during the Clinton era? No, that's not true: Fanone is not an Iranian national, He was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. He graduated from Ballou High School in Washington. Fanone initially began working for the U.S. Capitol…

Did someone remove the satellite weather data from May 19, 2024, in the region of Jolfa, Iran, where a helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi crashed in foggy conditions in the mountains? No, that's not true: As of May 21, 2024, the satellite product from the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere has the archived weather data for that…

Does a photograph show a port in the "Iranian capital Tehran" that "has increased security levels," as a post on X claimed? No, that's not true: Tehran, Iran's capital city, is landlocked. The image in question showed Trident Pier, a temporary pier in Gaza established by U.S. Central Command to offload aid for Palestinian civilians, a defense official confirmed to…

Do all the pictures in a social media post show wreckage of the helicopter accident that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in May 2024? No, that's not true: Only one of the four images was of the aftermath of the crash in northwestern Iran. The other three photos, one shown twice, were originally posted by the Red Crescent Society of…

Does an image on social media show the helicopter crash that killed several government officials including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi? No, that's not true: This image was created using digital editing tools and does not depict a real scene. A 2012 Alamy stock photo shows this helicopter fully operational, conducting aerial inspections of a high voltage grid in Italy. According…

Does a photo in a claim on social media show Iran's Special Forces raiding India's embassy in Tehran in 2024? No, that's not true: The photo is from 2015 and shows Germany's Special Forces during a training exercise. Contrary to the claim, this photo and the 2021 Reuters article it originated from had nothing to do with India, Iran, Israel…

Were two diplomats from India's Embassy in Iran detained or arrested in connection with the investigation of the helicopter crash that killed the country's president, among other officials? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support the claim made in a social media post and no credible sources confirmed such arrests. As of this writing, Iran's state media…

Did the United Nations revise the Gaza death toll in early May 2024, resulting in almost 50 percent fewer women and children reported as killed than previously estimated? No, that's not true: While the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs regularly updates its figures of reported casualties in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the numbers being…

Did President Joe Biden give $16 billion of American money away to Iran in 2023? No, that's not true: First, it's important to say that the amount in question is $6 billion, not $16 billion. Secondly, the money wasn't U.S. taxpayer dollars to begin with; the funds were Iranian financial assets that had been frozen in South Korea due to…

Does a video show an Iranian drone used during the country's attack against Israel stuck in power lines in Iraq? No, that's not true: The video, posted online as early as February 2024, predates Iran's April 13, 2024, attack against Israel. The video was most likely taken in Syria. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published on X…