Old Video Showing Man Shooting Himself Falsely Linked to Khamenei’s Death

Fact-Check: We traced this video back to October 2024, while Khamenei was killed on 28 February.

(Source: The Quint) 

(Trigger Warning: This story contains references to suicide. Readers should exercise discretion.)

A video showing a man taking his life by shooting himself with a gun on camera, is being shared on social media.

• Those sharing the clip have alleged that the video features an Iranian general who reportedly betrayed the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by revealing his whereabouts, which led to him being killed.

Khamenei was killed in targeted strikes by Israel and the USA on 28 February.

Here is a preview of the claim. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

(We have not added any links or archives as this is a sensitive video.)

Is the claim true?:  No, this claim is false as this video is old.

• We were able to trace this video to 15 October 2024.

• As per news reports, Zahir Aminian, a resident of Baneh in southern Kurdistan, shot himself dead during an Instagram Live session.

What we found: At first, we divided the viral clip into multiple screenshots and ran a Google reverse image search on some of them.

• It led us to a post on X featuring the same viral clip from 15 October 2024.

Here is a preview of the post. 

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

• We, then, ran a relevant keyword search and found another post on X, featuring the same video on a webiste name KurdistanOnline.

• It was uploaded on 15 October 2024, and noted, "Zahir Aminian, a resident of Baneh in southern Kurdistan, shot himself during an Instagram Live."

Here is a preview of the post.

(Source: X/Screenshot) 

Conclusion: The viral clip showing the man shooting himself is not of the reported Iranian general. Additionally, this person is not connected with the death of Khamenei.

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