Is This a Recent Image of Iran’s Police Headquarters in Tehran Burning? No!

We found that the image has been available online since 2020 and is unrelated to the recent conflict.

Fact-Check | The image is old and is unrelated to the recent Israel-Iran conflict.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Amid the recent escalations between Israel and Iran, an image is being shared on social media platforms with a claim that it shows recent visuals of police headquarters burning in Iran's Tehran.

What's the claim?: Those sharing the photo have captioned it saying, "The terrorist Islamic Republic is burning. This is the Police HQ in Tehran, Iran. For 46 years, these thugs have brutally suppressed, arrested and murdered innocent Iranians who have been peacefully demonstrating just because they want to live in a free country."

An archive of the post can be found here.

(Source: X/Screenshot)

At the time of writing this report, the post had gained over 60 thousand views on the platform. You can view archives of similar claims here, here, and here.

What are the facts?: The visual could be traced back to at least May 2020 and is unrelated to the recent conflict. It reportedly showed the dome of the Malek Ashtar Mosque in Tehran burning.

What led us to the truth?: A Google Lens search on the keyframes of the viral clip directed us to the same visuals published on the official X handle of BBC News Persian.

• It was uploaded on 9 May 2020.

• The post's caption when translated to English said, "According to reports, the dome of the Malek Ashtar Mosque, located at the headquarters of the National Anti-Terrorism Service (NAJA) in Tehran, has caught fire. Iranian media have attributed the fire to negligence in insulation work, saying that firefighters have arrived at the scene and that no human casualties have been reported."

News reports: A report published in Al Arabiya English said that the dome of a mosque belonging to the Iranian law enforcement caught fire.

• It further mentioned that the cause of the fire was reported as negligence on the part of the workers involved in the roofing process.

• No casualties were reported.

The report was published on 10 May 2020.

(Source: Al Arabiya English/Screenshot)

Conclusion: Evidently, the visual is old and is being falsely shared as a recent incident from Iran.

(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9540511818 , or e-mail it to us at [e-mail] and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)