Ex-Iranian president did not die in latest Iran-Israel war

"Breaking news! Helicopter crash / According to the report, the plane carrying Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi exploded (June 24)," partly reads the Tagalog-language caption of a Facebook post shared on June 25. 

It displays an image that appears to be from a TV report, with screenshots of comments plastered all over it. The Tagalog-language chyron says, "Foreign leaders offered their condolences after the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi." 

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Screenshot of the false post taken on June 26, 2025, with the red X mark added by AFP

The posts circulated after Iran retaliated against Israel's major bombardment campaign on June 13 targeting Iranian nuclear and military sites and killing top officials (archived link). 

Residential areas have also been hit in the fighting, with the health ministry in Tehran reporting at least 627 civilians killed and 4,900 wounded (archived link). 

Iran's retaliatory attacks on Israel have killed 28 people, according to official figures. 

While Iran and Israel have been locked in a shadow war for decades, their 12-day conflict was by far the most destructive confrontation between them (archived link). 

A US-proposed ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding June 30 (archived link). 

US President Donald Trump had accused both countries of violating the ceasefire he announced late June 23, but hours later he said that it was in effect. 

Several other users re-shared the circulating TV report as recent, and comments on the post indicate some users were misled. 

"Maybe this is just a show. Because Iran attacked last night," one user said.

Another wrote: "Haha smell something fishy. Why did he die? Because they lost to America". 

But the widely shared image is from a news report in May 2024. 

2024 helicopter crash

Keyword searches of the news chyron found that the Philippine broadcaster News5 uploaded the report on its verified TikTok page on May 21, 2024 (archived link). 

The report originally aired on the May 20 newscast of News5's Frontline Pilipinas (archived link). 

Its video caption said in Tagalog: "The president of Iran was killed in a helicopter crash. The Iranian foreign minister also died from the accident." 

Visuals shared in the false post corresponded to the 1:06 mark of News5's video. 

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Screenshot comparison of the false Facebook post (left) and the News5 report uploaded on TikTok, with the red X and rectangular elements added by AFP

AFP reported the helicopter apparently made a "hard landing" in the Dizmar forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in Iran's East Azerbaijan province, near its border with Azerbaijan, under circumstances that remain unclear (archived link). 

Former health minister and long-time parliamentarian Masoud Pezeshkian replaced the late Raisi after winning the 2024 presidential polls (archived link). 

The election was called early following the death of the ultraconservative president Raisi, and took place amid heightened regional tensions and domestic discontent (archived link). 

AFP has debunked other false information on the Iran-Israel war here.