Does an image of a burnt building authentically show the Mossad's headquarters hit by an Iranian strike in June 2025? No, that's not true: The giveaway that the picture didn't show a real-life scene was the misspelled name of the Israeli intelligence agency. That and other clues suggested that the picture could have been modified or generated from scratch by AI.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X on June 17, 2025. It opened:
BREAKING:
Iran strikes Israeli intelligence agency Mossad's HQ.
#Iran ✊
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot by Lead Stories)
Wrong spelling
The first detail in the image that draws attention to itself is the misspelled name. "The Mossad" is a shortened version of the Hebrew name for The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (HaMossad leModi'in uleTafkidim Meyuhadim).
The English version of the Israeli intelligence agency name (archived here) clearly shows a double S in its name:
(Source: Mossad screenshot by Lead Stories)
While English is the most commonly used foreign language in Israel (archived here) and many government websites and services use it as one of the options, it's still not the official one. The officiallanguage is Hebrew (archived here). Had there been a huge logo in only one language on the facade of one of the most secretive organizations in Israel, chances are the sign would be in Hebrew.
This is what the Mossad's logo looks like on its site in Hebrew:
(Source: Mossad screenshot by Lead Stories)
Visual inconsistencies
Despite the massive damage shown in the image, less sturdy items, such as the flag pole in front of the building, two flags and even letters in the logo, somehow remained unscratched. Additionally, the shadow of the flag pole raises questions: While the flag looks droopy, the shadow presents it as if it were mostly unfolded in the wind.
No credible sources posted verified images of the same building
Lead Stories searched for other images showing the same building from a different angle but didn't find any of those on the websites of credible media organizations.
According to Google Fact Check Explorer (archived here), similar claims purporting to share authentic visuals of the damaged headquarters of the Mossad in Tel Aviv had been circulating online earlier in 2025 and in 2024.
On June 17, 2025, Tehran Times -- an Iranian English-language newspaper that, according to its website (archived here), "began its work in 1979 to air the voice of the Islamic Revolution" -- published an article (archived here and here) claiming that an Iranian strike hit the Mossad headquarters, but even that piece did not contain any images of the said-to-have-been-bombed building with the misspelled "Mosad" logo.
The June 17, 2025, IDF press briefing did not mention damage to the Mossad headquarters. Lead Stories reached out to the Israel Defense Forces to address the claim that was the focus of this fact check and will update this fact check, as relevant, when they respond.
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Other Lead Stories articles mentioning the June 2025 escalation between Israel and Iran can be found here.
