Months-old explosion footage falsely shared as recent US strikes on Iran nuclear site
- Published on July 25, 2026 at 06:37
- 2 min read
- By Pasika KHERNAMNUOY, AFP Thailand
Iranian authorities accused the United States of striking a nuclear power plant under construction in the country's southwest as fighting between the warring sides flared up again in July 2026, but a video circulating on social media showing thick plumes of smoke is unrelated to the reported attack. The clip in fact shows US-Israeli strikes in central Iran's Isfahan province in early April, and was widely distributed by AFP and other international news agencies.
"Breaking! Iran's Darkhovin nuclear power plant has been targeted in a US missile strike. The Iranian IRGC declared that the United States will face full retaliation from now on," reads the Thai-language caption of a Facebook reel published on July 20, referring to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The 15-second video -- showing a massive explosion sending thick black plumes into the sky -- has garnered more than a million views.
It surfaced after Iranian authorities claimed the United States attacked the construction site of the Darkhovin nuclear power plant on July 19 "with a number of projectiles" (archived link).
The IAEA has called for restraint while the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said in a statement on X that no nuclear material had been stored at the site and the incident was "not believed to pose any radiological risk".
Iran's nuclear ambitions have long been a major point of contention with the West and remain a key issue in efforts to negotiate an end to the ongoing war.
While the United States, Israel and others suspect Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, Tehran insists its program is peaceful and defends its right to enrich uranium for civilian needs.
The footage also spread elsewhere on Facebook and TikTok with the claim, but it predates the latest escalation by more than three months.
April 2026 strikes
The scene matches a video that AFP published on April 2 after verifying its location through satellite images, with a caption saying it shows "a massive explosion following a strike in Baharestan, in Iran's central province of Isfahan".
The exchange of strikes followed US President Donald Trump vowing to hit Iran "extremely hard" for another two to three weeks in April (archived link).
A reverse image search on Google shows other outlets also published the footage at the time -- including Persian-language news channel Iran International, whose watermark can be seen in the false video (archived here, here and here).
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation related to the war in the Middle East.
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