Since the United States and Israel began launching airstrikes against Iran on February 28, social media has circulated videos and images purporting to show scenes from Tehran and other Iranian cities. Some footage is genuine, particularly when published by reputable media organizations, but other material is misleading, recycled, taken out of context or artificially generated. DW Fact Check examined several widely shared posts and summarizes findings below.
Tehran: Did the US explicitly drop 2,000-pound bombs on the city?
Claim: A widely shared video on X purported to show Tehran under attack and claimed the US began dropping 2,000-pound (910-kg) bombs on March 4; the post also asserted the Trump administration says “this is not a war.”
Verdict: Misleading.
– The US military confirmed on X that B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs as early as February 28. The US also began striking Tehran on that date.
– Reverse-image and video searches show the viral clip does show bombing in Tehran (confirmed by the user who first posted it and by Iran International), and the speakers in the footage are speaking Farsi.
– However, the video was first posted on March 1 and cannot show events on March 4, so the claimed date is wrong. The available evidence does not allow a definitive link between that specific clip and a confirmed 2,000-pound bomb strike — the broader US use of such bombs is confirmed, but attributing the weapon type to that one clip is unproven.
– The claim that the administration says “this is not a war” is accurate in the sense that President Donald Trump described the operations as “major combat operations,” but there has been no formal declaration of war.
Has Ayatollah Khamenei’s funeral taken place?
Claim: A video shared on Facebook and other platforms was presented as showing the funeral procession for Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Verdict: False.
– Khamenei was killed in the initial US-Israeli attacks, but as of the time of the post no official funeral for him had been held; organizing a state funeral amid active conflict would be difficult and none had been announced.
– The video does show a large funeral procession, but it corresponds to the funeral of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his likely successor Hashem Safieddine, held on February 23, 2025.
– Reverse-image searches and news coverage (including AFP/Getty) match the visuals in the viral clip; identifiable details include portraits and flags associated with Hezbollah and Lebanon.
Has Khamenei’s son been killed?
Claim: A widely viewed X post alleged that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the recently assassinated supreme leader, had been killed in US strikes in Tehran.
Verdict: Unproven.
– There is no reliable confirmation that Mojtaba Khamenei has been killed. Reports have suggested he might succeed his father, but succession remains unconfirmed.
– DW Fact Check previously debunked a deepfake purporting to show Mojtaba giving an inauguration address.
– Israeli officials have warned that any successor would be an “unequivocal target for elimination,” but no statement from the US, Israel or Iran has publicly confirmed Mojtaba’s death. Were such a death to have occurred, an official announcement would be expected.
Summary
– Some widely shared videos do show real events in Iran (including confirmed strikes on Tehran and other targets), but accompanying claims often include incorrect dates, misattributed details about weapon types, or false identities.
– Other viral clips are misattributed to the wrong events (for example, confusing a Hezbollah funeral with a funeral for Iran’s supreme leader).
– Deepfakes and manipulated media are circulating; claims of high-profile deaths should be treated cautiously until confirmed by reliable official or reputable media sources.
Negin Jamshidi Fard and Niloofar Gholami contributed to this report.
Edited by: Matt Ford