This Video of Trucks Shaking Has No Relation to Nuclear Tests in Iran
The Claim
Trucks are shaking in Iran after Nuclear tests.
News posted on
Emerging story
A video emerged on X recently showing trucks swaying on the highway as well as dust being shaken off mountains. Social media users claimed that the unusual movements of the trucks and clouds of dust were caused by nuclear tests in Iran.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral claim and found it to be misleading. The video is outdated and has no relation to any nuke tests in Iran.
Two Earthquakes in Iran Caused Trucks to Sway in 2021
Through reverse image search, Misbar’s team found that the video is not recent and dates back to 2021.
A one-minute video published in 2021 by the YouTube channel CGTN America shows the impact of two earthquakes in Iran.
The viral video can be seen at around 00:21.
The trucks in the viral video were swayed by an earthquake that happened in Iran in 2021. The dust could be seen shaking off the mountains too due to the earthquake.
Geological Survey confirmed that one of the earthquakes was of magnitude 6.3 with a depth of 10 kilometers, and the other was magnitude 6.4.
CNN also reported on the earthquakes in Iran, sharing footage of the swaying trucks.
Misbar’s team also found a TRT World Now video report on the earthquake, dating back to November 2021. The video is 40 seconds like the viral video with the misleading claim, and shows the same scenes of the trucks as they were shaking.
The earthquake reportedly killed one person after an electricity pole fell on him.
Iran is crisscrossed by major geological fault lines and has suffered several devastating earthquakes in recent years.
A Recent Earthquake in Iran Raised Skepticism on Social Media, Later Debunked
An earthquake of 4.4 magnitude took place in Iran last month, on October 5. The earthquake was centered in the city of Aradan in Iran’s Semnan province, with tremors felt in parts of eastern Tehran.
After the news of the earthquake broke, social media users expressed their speculations that the Tehran regime had attempted to conduct its first nuclear test. The speculations were fueled by the repeated threats by the Islamic Republic officials and Revolutionary Guard commanders that Tehran would alter its military defense doctrine if economic, political, and military pressures on the country intensified.
One social media user commented on the earthquake, “Iran has gone nuclear since last night. They used the test bombs 10 km below the surface near Semnan to ensure minimum radiation exposure and it resulted in a 4.6 scale earthquake which was recorded by seismographs.”
Another said that the earthquake in Iran scared Israel, presuming that the earthquake was caused by nuclear tests.
Nevertheless, the Nor News website, which operates informally as the Islamic Republic's National Security Council main information outlet, debunked the claims and described them as “rumors.” The outlet stressed that nuclear testing contradicts Iran’s nuclear and defense doctrines.
The Arms Control Association also debunked the speculations after a month of the earthquake.
The Association stated that International monitors have determined that the earthquakes on October 5 were due to natural reasons, and Iran “did not test a nuclear weapon.”
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