Old Dubai fire clip resurfaces following Iran strikes
- Published on March 3, 2026 at 05:02
- 2 min read
- By AFP Middle East & North Africa
- Translation and adaptation Dene-Hern CHEN, AFP Australia
Dubai's massive Jebel Ali port caught fire as Iran unleashed missiles and drones across the Middle East, in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on the Islamic republic. But footage circulating online supposedly depicting the blaze is from 2021, when a container ship burned at the same port.
"Iranian missiles inflict massive destruction on UAE's Port of Jebel Ali, where US navy ships dock," reads the caption to the video shared March 1, 2026 by an Australia-based Facebook user.
"Huge destruction and fires spread through Middle East's biggest port," it continues.
The clip also circulated in several posts written in Malaysian and Arabic, racking up thousands of shares.
The posts spread online following a joint US-Israel attack on Iran that killed its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28 (archived link).
US President Donald Trump warned the war could extend longer than a month, as the conflict spread across the region with Israel bombarding Lebanon and Tehran targeting US allies in the Gulf, including drones hitting the US embassy in Saudi Arabia.
In the UAE, Dubai's busy airport sustained damage while the seaport of Jebel Ali, which hosts US warships and is capable of handling aircraft carriers, also caught fire.
But the video circulating online predates the present conflict by several years.
A reverse image search on a keyframe from the falsely shared clip found it shared on the official X account of media outlet Arab News on July 8, 2021 (archived link).
"Footage from #JebelAli Port after an explosion and a container ship caught fire," the caption says.
The content was credited to X user @saeedma91, a Dubai resident, who posted the video earlier that day (archived link).
AFP reported the fire at the time, saying the explosion on a container ship carrying flammable materials sent shock waves through the city (archived link).
The fire was doused within 40 minutes, authorities said, and all 14 crew members were evacuated in time before the explosion.
Similar footage shared by Dubai's government media office on its official X account on July 8, 2021 shows firefighters attempting to extinguish the blaze (archived link).
AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the Middle East conflict here.
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