Fake Photos of Iran Attack of US Base in Iraq
The Claim
Photos depicts the January 8, 2020 Iran attack on the US base in Iraq.
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Misbar’s Analysis
The photos shown depict several missiles streaking through the night sky past a mountain range and a large explosion. Many of the top comments are religious or war-inciting. The pictures have been shared nearly 20,000 times.
Iran did fire over a dozen missiles at targets in Iraqi military bases that housed US troops. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned the US “If you hit, you get hit back” after the US assassination of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani. The Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has since tweeted that “We do not seek escalation of war but will defend ourselves against any aggression.”
News sites including NBC and CNN reported on misinformation following the attack.
However, reverse image searches verify that the photos do not depict the missiles that hit Al Asad base and Erbil base in Iraq on January 7. The photos are actually of an October 1, 2018 Iranian missile launch and a June 18, 2017 Iranian missile launch, both against Syria; and a November 15, 2019 Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip. The actual footage of the January 7, 2020 strike in Iraq shows a much less catastrophic-appearing missile launch.
