Fact Check: Iranian missile attack on Israel caught live? No, it shows a blast in Romania
A video surfaced on social media claiming to show an Iranian missile attack on Israel during live media coverage.
By - Rahul Adhikari
Claim:The video shows an Iranian missile attack on Israel during live media coverage.
Fact:False. The viral video shows an explosion at a petrol station in Romania in 2023.
Hyderabad: A video circulating on social media claims to show an Iranian missile strike on Israel during live media coverage.
The viral clip shows reporters on the road at night holding microphones and following a person when a massive explosion takes place nearby. We can see the crew running in the opposite direction.
The US and Israel are continuing military strikes on Iran, marking the seventh day of the conflict. More than 1,230 people have been killed in Iran since the attacks began on March 1, reported Al Jazeera.
Israel claimed that they have carried out around 2,500 strikes and destroyed about 80 per cent of Iran’s air defence systems.
In this context, several users shared the clip on social media, claiming it showed an Iranian missile strike on Israel. One user shared the video on X wrote, “Israelis get smoked by Iranian missile during a live overnight broadcast.” (Archive)
But does the video show an Iranian missile strike?
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. A video showing an explosion at a gas station in Romania in 2023 was deliberately falsely shared as an Iranian attack.
Analysis of the video
We took screenshots from the viral clip and conducted reverse image searches using Google Lens. The results led us to a video report published by Euronews on August 27, 2023, which included a longer version of the same footage.
The report stated that the video shows an explosion at an unlicensed petrol station in Crevedia, Romania.
We found the viral video also featured in news reports published by BBC News and Al Jazeera.
The reports stated that two blasts took place at the Romanian petrol station on August 26, 2023. After the first explosion, firefighters arrived at the scene when a second blast occurred, which was captured on camera. At least two people were killed and 56 were injured.
Authorities said the petrol station did not have a permit to operate. The exact cause of the fire was not confirmed, but investigators believed it may have started during an LPG transfer between tankers.
Based on the evidence, we conclude that the video is from a gas station explosion in Romania and was falsely linked to the ongoing conflict between Iran, the US, and Israel.
