Video shows explosion at Mexico diesel storage facility, not Israeli attack on Iran

"When Israel dropped bombs on Iran's warhead warehouse, thousands of warheads stored there exploded, creating a fire mushroom just like the one during a nuclear blast," reads a Hindi-language post published on X on June 14, 2025.

It shares footage of a large explosion and blaze in an urban area, and a voice can be heard saying in Spanish, "I hope no one is in there."

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on June 17, 2025 with a red X added by AFP

The video surfaced after Israel fired missiles at Iranian nuclear and military facilities on the previous day, before Iran retaliated with a barrage of missiles targeting Tel Aviv (archived link).

The US military bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in what President Donald Trump said on June 21 was a "very successful attack", before Iran responded by launching missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar -- the biggest US military facility in the Middle East (archived link).

Trump announced on June 23 that Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire (archived link). 

Israeli attacks on Iran killed at least 627 civilians during the 12-day war between the arch-foes, Iran's health ministry said, while 28 people were killed in Israel in strikes across the country (archived link).

The video was shared with similar claims elsewhere on X and on Facebook.

But a reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the false video shows Mexican outlet NMas used the clip in a report published on May 22 about an explosion at a diesel storage plant in the Nuevo Leon state (archived link).

The video report's description said the owner has been under investigation since 2021 for fuel trafficking.

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Screenshot comparison of the false video (L) and the NMas clip

Other outlets also reported on the explosion with the same visuals (archived here and here). 

The explosion can also be seen in a clip filmed from another angle published on the same day on TikTok, with explosion sound effects added by the user (archived link). 

AFP has debunked other misinformation about the Iran-Israel war.

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