A post, which claims that the United States of America (USA) used Indian airspace to conduct its recent strikes against Iran, is doing the rounds on social media platforms.
What did the viral post say?: An X (formerly Twitter) premium user shared the claim saying, "CONFIRMED: Indian airspace was used by U.S. forces to strike Iran. New Delhi’s quiet complicity now places it on the wrong side of history. Iran will not forget."
What's the truth?: There is no available evidence to support the claim that the United States had used Indian airspace to conduct strikes against Iran.
Moreover, the fact-checking wing of Press Information Bureau (PIB) termed the viral claim as "fake".
How did we find that out?: We went through the US Department of State's official website and found a press briefing, which talked about the overnight strike on three nuclear facilities in Iran.
It said that "After proceeding quietly and with minimal communication for 18 hours from the U.S. to the target area, the first of seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers dropped two 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator "bunker buster" bombs at the Fordo site..."
The three sites that were targeted in this operation called "Operation Midnight Hammer" were identified as Fordo, Isfahan, and Natanz.
The website also carried an illustration depicting the route taken by the US to conduct the strikes. If you look closely, you'll find that India was not seen on the marked route anywhere.
PIB debunks the claim: PIB's fact-checking wing took to its official X handle to clarify that the viral claim about US using Indian airspaces to launch aircrafts against Iran is "fake".
It further said, "Indian Airspace was NOT used by the United States during Operation #MidnightHammer."
The post was shared on 22 June.
Conclusion: It is evident that the claim about US using Indian airspace to conduct strikes against Iran is false.
(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 webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)