This Clip Doesn’t Show India Destroying an Iranian Warship Amid West Asia Crisis

The video showed an Iranian warship engulfed in fire after reportedly being targeted by the US.

Fact-Check | The video is old and is being shared with an incorrect claim.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A video of smoke billowing from a ship is doing the rounds on social media platforms to claim that it shows India allegedly attacking an Iranian naval ship amid the ongoing tensions in West Asia.

An X (formerly Twitter) user said the clip with a caption that said, "Sad news. A new front has opened between #India and #Iran. The Indian Navy has reportedly struck an Iranian naval ship with a missile, destroying it..."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

The above post had gained over three lakh views on the platform. Another archive of a similar claim could be found here.

What's the truth?: The video could be traced back to 4 March, and showed an Iranian warship on fire after reportedly being targeted by the United States. This made the viral claim false.

What led us to the truth?: After running a reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral video, we found the same visuals published on the official X handle of Al Jazeera English.

• It was posted on 4 March with a caption that said, "An Iranian warship was seen on fire near the port of Bandar Abbas, after local media reported it had been attacked. The incident comes as the US says it is stepping up attacks on Iran’s navy."

Other sources: The YouTube handle of Al Arabiya English, too, had shared a video report on the incident on 4 March. It was titled, "IRGC Warship Shahid Sayyad Shirazi Targeted."

Conclusion: It is evident that the video is old and is being shared with a false context.

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