Fireworks factory blast in Malta misrepresented as US, Iran strikes
- Published on June 9, 2026 at 11:02
- 3 min read
- By AFP Middle East & North Africa
- Translation and adaptation Livia LIU, AFP Hong Kong
Missile and drone strikes in early June 2026 strained the United States and Iran's fragile ceasefire, but footage of a massive explosion circulating online is unrelated to the Middle East war. Social media posts are claiming the blast was either at an Iranian air force base hit by US strikes or in Kuwait after an Iranian attack, but it in fact occurred at a fireworks factory in Malta on June 1.
"Emergency Alert: Reports indicate that Iran has been subjected to a major attack. Allegedly, multiple Iranian air force bases have been destroyed. The situation is rapidly escalating," says the simplified Chinese caption of a video shared on X on June 3, 2026.
The 56-second clip, shared by an account with more than 10,600 followers, shows two angles of a massive explosion that sends a huge cloud of smoke into the air.
The same video was also shared in a June 4 X post, which claims it shows an Iranian attack on Kuwait.
"Iran says the attacks were in direct retaliation for the UAE military's heavy bombing of Qeshm Island, located in Iranian territory, this morning," reads the post, shared by an account with more than 5,500 followers.
The video was also shared in similar X posts in Chinese and other languages.
The posts circulated as fresh strikes in the Middle East strained the fragile ceasefire that paused the war sparked by the US-Israeli bombing of Iran (archived link).
US Central Command said on June 1 that it launched strikes "in response to aggressive Iranian actions" that included a shootdown of a US drone over international waters (archived link).
On June 3, Kuwait's international airport was hit by drones and missiles that killed one person and injured over 60 (archived link).
Kuwait's military condemned the drone strike on the airport, which caused severe damage, as an act of "criminal Iranian aggression".
Iran's Revolutionary Guards denied the strike and said it was "an error in the American Patriot systems, which landed on the terminal after failing to intercept Iranian missiles."
The footage circulating on social media in fact shows an explosion that occurred in Malta.
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the first angle of the blast led to the same footage used by multiple news outlets about an explosion at the Ta' Lourdes Fireworks Factory in Malta on June 1 (archived here, here and here).
The video, filmed in the Maghtab area on the northern side of the Mediterranean island, was also shared by the Times of Malta and Malta Today (archived here and here).
According to the reports, none of the factory's licensed workers was on site when the blast occurred but two men suffered minor injuries in fields nearby.
The second clip was also included in the Times of Malta report.
The footage corresponds to Google Street View imagery of St. Paul's Bay, opposite the site of the explosion (archived link).
AFP also distributed photos of the explosion.
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation linked to the Middle East war.
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