This photo of Iranian missiles has circulated in reports since at least 2013
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on January 15, 2020 at 09:10
- 4 min read
- By AFP Indonesia
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The photo was shared in this Facebook post along with two other photos on January 3, 2020. The post has been shared more than 140 times.
The other two photos both show former Iranian military commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani.
Soleimani was Iran’s Quds Force commander who was killed by the US military in an airstrike attack in Iraq on January 3, 2020, as reported here by AFP.
Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:
The post’s Indonesian-language caption translates to English as: “IRAN has started to deploy its army, navy and airforce fleets and direct their missile arsenals. Russia and China are left in confusion trying to lobby Iran to restraint itself but are ignored. Arab countries are frozen in silence, fearful faces blanket all corners of the American allies. Only 3 days left after the period of mourning, the world will soon learn how much the price of Qosem Sulaemani's BLOOD."
Iran fired missiles at two US bases in Iraq on January 8, 2020, an attack it said was a “revenge” for the killing of Soleimani, as reported here by AFP.
The same missile photo was also posted with the same claim here and here, where it has been shared more than 300 times.
The photo has been shared in a misleading context; Iran did fire missiles on US bases in Baghdad on January 8, 2020 but the image does not show the event. It has circulated in media reports about Iranian medium-range ballistic missiles since at least 2013.
A reverse image search and a subsequent keyword search on Google found the image has been used in multiple media reports since 2013, most noticeably in this December 14, 2013, report by Tehran-based Mehr News Agency about Iran’s missile capabilities.
Below is a screenshot showing the same missile photo in the Mehr report:
The report's Persian-language headline translates to English as: “All of Iran’s Missiles: From Hypersonics to Intercontinental Missiles”.
The report's sub-headline and the caption above the missile photo reads in English as:
“Shahab-3 medium-range ballistic missile
“Shahab-3 is one of the best medium-range ballistic missiles which operates on liquid fuel. The Shahab-3 is Iran’s first medium-range ballistic missile. It’s first model is known as Shahab-3A and has a range of up to 1,300 kilometers. It’s second model is known as Shahab-3B and uses a heavier warhead and has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers. The latest model of this missile is the Shahab-3D which has a range of between 2,200 to 3,000 kilometers and is operational over all terrains.”
Below is a screenshot of the missile photo in the misleading post (L) and the Mehr News Agency picture (R):
The same missile can be seen in this AFP photo taken during a test fire in November 2006 in the Iranian city of Qom.
Below is a screenshot of the same type of missile captured in an AFP photo:
Several news outlets, including Forbes here, reported that Iran fired Fateh-110 short-range missiles in the attack on a US base in Baghdad on January 8, 2020, not Shahab-3.
A reverse image search for the second photo, which shows Soleimani posing in a military attire, found this same photo posted by Iranian news website Mashregh News on November 8, 2011. The Persian-language caption says: “Sardar Haj Qassem Soleimani”.
Below is a screenshot of the second photo in the Mashregn News website:
A reverse image search for the third photo found this image, published by Iranian University Students News on March 29, 2016.
The photo’s Persian-language caption translates to English as: “Qasem Soleimani with (his) mother”.
Below is a screenshot of the photo:
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