Fact Check: Israel airstrikes in Iran destroy busy traffic junction? No, footage is old
Amid escalating violence in the Middle East, a video showing two blasts at a traffic junction is going viral on social media as a recent attack.
By - K Sherly Sharon
Claim:The video shows recent footage of an Israeli strike on a busy traffic junction in Iran.
Fact:Misleading. The video shows Israeli missiles attacking Iran’s Tajrish Square on June 15, 2025.
Hyderabad: On February 28, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was reportedly killed in joint US-Israel airstrikes on the country. Tehran called the attacks unprovoked and illegal, and responded by launching missiles at Israel and several Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In this context, a video showing two blasts near a road is going viral on social media. A busy junction at traffic lights turned chaotic when an explosion took place inside a building. A second blast takes place seconds later, so massive it tears through the concrete road, flinging the cars into the air.
The Iranian national flag on a building is visible in the video. The text on the video reads, “US and Israel launch attack on Iran, as Trump says ‘major combat operation’ underway.”
The video was shared to Instagram, a part of the caption reads, “US and Israel launch attack on Iran, as Trump says ‘major combat operation’ underway. The Israel Defence Forces says retaliatory strikes have been launched by Iran... Washington has been ramping up the pressure on Tehran to agree to a new deal on its nuclear programme. Trump said on Friday he was ‘not happy’ with Iran’s negotiating position during nuclear talks.” (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading. The video shows Israeli missiles attacking Tajrish Square in Iran on June 15, 2025.
Using reverse image searches of the viral video keyframes, we found a report shared by The New Arab on July 4, 2025. The cover image of this report shows a keyframe from the viral video. According to the report, the video shows CCTV camera footage of the moment two Israeli missiles struck Tehran’s Tajrish Square. This attack was conducted during the '12-day war’ between Iran and Israel in June 2025.
The video was also shared on X by Iran International English on the same day. Their X caption states, “The main target of the strike was reportedly the office of the Centre for Mosque Affairs, located on the upper floor of a Bank Shahr branch in Tajirish, where senior intelligence officials were holding a covert meeting to avoid detection.”
The post also states that the second explosion killed at least 12 civilians and injured over 50.
The Jerusalem Post shared the viral clip in a report dated July 3, 2025, and wrote, “This was one of the attacks carried out by the IDF deep inside Iranian territory during the operation, according to Iranian media, as part of a broad campaign to hit Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military targets.”
The caption of the viral video screenshot in the report read, “Security cameras from an Israeli attack on Quds Square in Tehran during Operation Rising Lion.”
Going by the reports, it can be concluded that though it is an attack in Iran, possibly by Israel, it is not recent. NewsMeter concludes that the viral claim is misleading.
