Video of Saudi royal's Pakistan visit falsely linked to Mideast peace talks
- Published on April 15, 2026 at 10:54
- Updated on April 15, 2026 at 11:08
- 2 min read
- By AFP Middle East & North Africa
- Translation and adaptation Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, AFP Thailand
Pakistan's capital was on lockdown and its streets flooded with armed guards ahead of US-Iran peace talks to end the Middle East war on April 11, 2026, but social media posts falsely claimed an old video showed fighter jets protecting the Iranian delegation as it arrived in Islamabad. The clip depicts a ceremonial welcome for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he visited Pakistan in February 2019.
"Pakistan sent fighter jets to escort the Iranian delegation during their trip to negotiate with the United States in Pakistan, due to concerns of a potential assassination attempt by Israel along the way," reads a Thai-language Facebook post on April 10, 2026.
The accompanying video shows several fighter jets escorting a passenger plane. It bears the logo of American state-funded media Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on the upper left side, and a watermark that says Reuters on the upper right.
The video was misrepresented elsewhere on Facebook, as well as in posts in other languages, including English, Arabic, Malay, Burmese and Indonesian.
Pakistan closed roads, diverted traffic, set up police checkpoints across Islamabad, and declared a two-day public holiday in preparation for peace talks between the United States and Iran. The main luxury hotel hosting delegates was cleared of its normal well-heeled guests (archived here and here).
Local media reported the South Asian country had implemented extraordinary air security measures to protect the Iranian delegation amid high regional tensions, including using decoy aircraft and switching off transponders to avoid radar detection (archived here and here).
The talks ended without a deal, but US President Donald Trump told the New York Post on April 14 that a second round could happen "over the next two days" in Pakistan (archived link).
The United States and Israel launched deadly coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, sparking retaliation from Tehran that has plunged the Middle East into conflict and the global economy into tumult.
Ceremonial welcome
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the video found that the footage was originally published by RFE/RL on February 18, 2019 (archived link).
"Pakistan Fighters Escort Saudi Crown Prince Into Islamabad," reads the video's title.
AFP distributed the video on the same day, crediting it to the Pakistan Air Force.
Its caption says fighter jets escorted the plane carrying Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Pakistan airspace as he arrived for a two-day visit.
The crown prince, widely known as "MBS", received a lavish welcome in Pakistan, including a 21-gun salute, fighter jet escort and honour guard (archived link).
He signed $20 billion in investment deals and received Islamabad's highest civilian honour during that visit.
AFP has debunked a wave of misinformation triggered by the Middle East war here.
Story updated to correct link to English post in fourth paragraphUpdated to add metadataApril 15, 2026 Story updated to correct link to English post in fourth paragraph
April 15, 2026 Updated to add metadata
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