Months-old footage of Russian market fire falsely linked to renewed Middle East conflict
- Published on July 30, 2026 at 15:14
- 2 min read
- By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, Mike YAMBO, AFP Middle East & North Africa, AFP Thailand, AFP Kenya
After Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had struck US military targets in Bahrain in July 2026, social media posts recirculated an old video falsely claiming it showed a massive fire at a US base in Bahrain. The footage actually depicts a fire at a market in St. Petersburg, Russia, in December 2025.
"Iran Reportedly Launches Missile Attack On Bahrain's Sheikh Isa Air Base And US Fifth Fleet Headquarters," reads part of a Facebook post published by a Nigerian account on July 16, 2026.
The post includes a 31-second video showing a building engulfed in flames at night as firefighters battle the blaze.
The video also appeared with similar claims in Thai-language Facebook posts as well as in Arabic.
A battle over the strategic Strait of Hormuz has rekindled the war in the Middle East, with the US military reportedly hitting "dozens of Iranian military targets" in response to attacks on commercial shipping after a preliminary deal with Tehran fell apart (archived link).
The Iranian army also said it had targeted an air base in Bahrain used by the United States in retaliation for American strikes, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.
Drones targeted "aircraft shelters and parking areas, fuel storage tanks of the US military at Sheikh Isa Air Base, as well as several connecting bridges in Bahrain," said the Iranian army (archived link).
But the video does not depict the aftermath of an attack in Bahrain.
Russian market fire
A reverse image search using the video's keyframes led AFP Fact Check to the same footage posted on X on December 11, 2025, when a massive fire occurred at one of the largest markets in St. Petersburg, Russia (archived link).
Al Jazeera English's Facebook page also shared a video showing the scene on December 11, 2025, saying the fire killed at least one person and injured several others (archived link).
Russian media organisation Moscow 24 reported that the fire broke out at the Pravoberezhny Market in St. Petersburg's Nevsky district and the blaze rapidly spread to cover an area of 1,500 square metres, according to Russian officials (archived link).
A subsequent keyword search led to photos of the fire published by the Russian state news agency TASS on December 10, 2025 (archived link).
Images of the area on Google Street View also correspond to the building and billboard seen in the video (archived link).
AFP previously debunked misinformation related to the Middle East conflict in July 2026.
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