Fact Check: Massive explosion in Tehran after Israel’s powerful attack? No, video shows Beirut blast
A video claiming to show Israel bombing Iran’s capital, Tehran, causing massive explosions, is going viral on social media.
By M Ramesh Naik
Claim:The video shows Israel’s recent missile attack on Tehran, Iran’s capital city.
Fact:The claim is false. The viral video is a compilation of old clips from the 2020 Beirut port explosion in Lebanon, not a recent attack on Tehran.
Hyderabad: Tensions have risen once again in the Middle East after Israel claimed to have intercepted missile attacks from Iran and retaliated by destroying Iranian fighter jets and helicopters.
Amid this volatile backdrop, a dramatic video is being shared on social media claiming to show Israel launching a powerful missile attack on Iran’s capital, Tehran.
An Instagram user posted the video with the caption, “Israel launched a powerful attack on Iran’s capital, Tehran, shaking the entire city. Scenes of massive destruction from missile strikes and explosions are emerging. Tensions between Iran and Israel have now reached their peak.” (Archive)
The video is a compilation of several clips, one showing a massive explosion near a port, another capturing damaged buildings, and another showing a blast filmed from a ship. The visuals are dramatic and intense, seemingly capturing widespread destruction.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video is not from Tehran, nor is it recent; it is footage from the Beirut port explosion that occurred in August 2020.
We began by conducting a reverse image search on key frames from the viral video. The search led us to multiple sources confirming the original source of the footage.
One clip was found in a YouTube Short by DW News titled ‘Beirut explosion - Multi-angle footage’, published in August 2020. The video shows the moment the massive blast shook Beirut’s port area, leaving dozens injured and causing widespread damage. The DW video includes the same explosion and surrounding visuals seen in the viral video now being linked to Tehran.
Another part of the compilation matches a video posted by La Nación Costa Rica on August 5, 2020, titled ‘Explosion in Beirut Lebanon DESTROYS AUTOMOBILE IN MOTION.’ The description of this video confirms that two violent explosions at Beirut’s port left at least 27 people dead and over 2,500 injured. Lebanon’s health minister at the time described the incident as ‘a catastrophe in every way.’
We traced a third clip, showing the explosion from a ship at sea, to an X post, dated August 4, 2020. The caption reads: “The major portion of ‘Port of Beirut’ is destroyed---Video Taken from a ship.” The post further explained that the explosion was caused by a fire in a depot where large quantities of highly explosive material, including ammonium nitrate, had been stored.
All three video segments in the viral post are thus confirmed to be from the 2020 Beirut explosion, not from Tehran in 2025.
The viral video claiming to show a recent Israeli attack on Tehran is misleading and false. It is a compilation of old footage from the 2020 Beirut port explosion in Lebanon. It has no connection to the current Israel-Iran conflict.
