AI-generated videos do not show Iran relocating nuclear facilities before US strikes
'Iran claims that everything is safe,' adds the text overlay at the bottom of the video.
Image
Screenshot of the false post, taken on June 25, 2025
The post, shared more than 210 times, contains eight seconds of footage showing what appear to be dozens of nuclear warheads with Iranian flags in an underground facility.
The post was also shared here on Facebook on June 24, 2025. The same account repeated the claim with a different video a day earlier.
'Iran moved the uranium enrichment facilities to other locations 24 hours before the US attack,' reads the Amharic post shared more than 180 times and dated June 23, 2025.
Image
Screenshot of the false post, taken on June 25, 2025
It includes a 10-second video that appears to show large containers being transported by a vehicle, while people watch from the roadside.
'The Iran of Islam, the Islamic Republic, in this battle, can destroy Israel in a few hours or perhaps days,' says a man's voice in Arabic.
US strikes
Israel began attacking Iran on June 13, 2025, hitting nuclear and military facilities and residential areas, and triggering a wave of Iranian missile attacks on Israel that continued until a ceasefire came into effect on June 24, 2025.
On June 22, 2025, the US attacked three key Iranian nuclear facilities, including an underground uranium enrichment facility in Fordo, using massive bunker-busting bombs. This was followed by an Iranian missile strike on the largest US military facility in the Middle East, the Al Udeid air base in Qatar (archived here).
It remains disputed whether Iran may have moved enriched uranium before the US strikes and whether these caused significant damage after reports indicated that they did not destroy key components and that Iran's nuclear programme was set back only months at most (archived here).
However, the videos purporting to show Iranian nuclear facilities being moved to other sites were generated with AI.
AI-generated clips
The first indications that the video was created artificially are several glitches typical of AI tools.
In the first video, for example, there are glitches in the rendering of the nuclear missiles. Some have no heads, only tails, while others have only heads. For some, the design simply breaks off in the middle, making them appear partially suspended in the air.
The texture of the concrete walls also morphs as the camera moves along.
In the second video, the movement of the vehicle's wheels is inconsistent. At one point, the wheels appear static while the vehicle continues moving. Additionally, the hand movements of people seen waving and taking photos along the roadside appear unnaturally stiff and unrealistic.
AFP Fact Check also used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from both videos.
The search result established that the first clip with a higher resolution was published on YouTube on June 19, 2025 (archived here).
The YouTube version has a clear 'Veo' watermark in the bottom right corner. In the Facebook post, the watermark has been cropped out.
Image
Screenshots of the YouTube video with the 'Veo' watermark (left) and the Facebook post, taken on June 25, 2025
Google's new AI-powered video creation tool, Veo, allows users to generate realistic-looking videos that are currently eight seconds maximum in length, the same as the clip (archived here).
Similarly, the search results for the second video revealed that it was AI-generated using another program called InVideo. The tool helps users to create up to 10 seconds of video (archived here).
The video was originally published on the Facebook page 'Ayoub Ennachat' on June 4, 2025 — more than two weeks before the US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities (archived here).
A review of the page shows that it regularly shares AI-generated videos made with InVideo.
Image
Screenshots of the YouTube video with the 'InVideo AI' watermark (left) and the Facebook post, taken on June 25, 2025
The original video, which has been shared more than 7,500 times, features a 10-second clip with a visible 'InVideo AI' watermark in the top-right corner. The text accompanying the video also mentions 'InVideo'.
In the version shared on Facebook with the false claim, the 'InVideo' watermark is covered with Iranian flags.
Additionally, the original video features background sounds of wind and passing vehicles.
In the false claim, this audio was replaced with a man speaking in Arabic about Iran fighting Israel.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
17 minutes ago
- France 24
Shifting to Asia, Rubio meets Quad and talks minerals
Rubio had welcomed the foreign ministers of the so-called Quad on January 21 in his first meeting after President Donald Trump's inauguration, seen as a sign that the new administration would prioritize engagement with like-minded countries to counter China. Since then, much of Rubio's attention has been on the Middle East, with the United States bombing Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israel; on Ukraine, as Trump unsuccessfully seeks a ceasefire in Russia's invasion, and on boosting Trump's domestic priorities such as mass deportations of migrants. Welcoming the three foreign ministers, Rubio did not directly mention military concerns over China but said he sought cooperation among business and on raw materials -- also key goals for the Trump administration. Rubio told them he was focused on "diversifying the global supply chain of critical minerals -- not just access to the raw material, but also access to the ability to process and refine it to usable materials." "It's critical for all technologies and for all industries across the board," Rubio said, voicing hope for "real progress" on the issue within the Quad. China holds major reserves of several key minerals including the vast majority of the world's graphite, which is crucial for electric vehicles. Beijing has sought to impose restrictions as leverage, as the United States in turn curbs its access to semiconductors and as Trump wields the threat of punishing tariffs on both friends and foes. 'Free and open' Trump is expected to travel to India later this year for a summit of the Quad. The four-way partnership was first conceived by late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who saw an alliance of democracies around China -- which has repeatedly alleged that the Quad is a way to contain it. Trump has long branded China as the top US adversary, but since returning to office has also saluted his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both the Indian and Japanese foreign ministers said that they wanted the Quad to focus on a "free and open Indo-Pacific" -- a phrasing that is a veiled allusion to opposing Chinese dominance in Asia. "We're all committed to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said. "It is essential that nations of the Indo-Pacific have the freedom of choice, so essential to make right decisions on development and security," he said. Jaishankar also made clear that India would raise its strikes last month against Pakistan in response to a major attack on mostly Hindu civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir. "India has every right to defend its people against terrorism, and we will exercise that right. We expect our Quad partners to understand and appreciate that," he said. Despite shared concerns on China, the Quad members have differed on other hotspots. India has maintained a historic relationship with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine. Both India and Japan also have historically warm relationships with Iran, whose nuclear sites the United States bombed in June in support of an Israeli campaign.
LeMonde
43 minutes ago
- LeMonde
French diplomat visits two French nationals detained in Iran
A French diplomat on Tuesday, July 1, visited two French nationals detained in Iran, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, the foreign minister said, after their families demanded proof that they were alive after Israeli strikes. The fates of Kohler and Paris had been unknown since Israel targeted Iran's Evin prison in an air strike last week, before a US-proposed ceasefire between the belligerent parties came into force. "We obtained a visit today from our chargé d'affaires in Iran," Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told lawmakers. A French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman confirmed the visit had taken place earlier in the day. However, the ministry did not specify where the visit occurred, amid uncertainty over the couple's whereabouts. Iran's judiciary has said the Israeli strike on the prison had killed at least 79 people. It also said that the Iranian prison authority transferred inmates out of Evin prison, without specifying their number or identifying them. Several women prisoners have been transferred to Qarchak prison for women outside Tehran, which has a notorious reputation for its conditions. Around 20 European nationals detained On Friday, the families of Kohler and Paris demanded "proof of life," while a lawyer denounced their "forced disappearance." Kohler, 40, and Paris, her 72-year-old partner, have been held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges that their families reject. Iran is believed to be detaining around 20 European nationals, many of whose cases have never been publicized, in what some Western governments, including France, describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West. Three Europeans, who have not been identified, have also been arrested in the wake of the current conflict, two of whom stand accused of spying for Israel, according to the authorities.
Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
Denmark arrests man for spying on Berlin's Jewish community for Iran
A man suspected of gathering information on Berlin Jewish community's locations and individuals for Iranian intelligence, possibly to carry out attacks, has been arrested in Denmark, German prosecutors said on Tuesday. Federal prosecutors said in a statement that the Danish national, identified only as Ali S in line with German privacy regulations, was arrested on Thursday in the city of Aarhus. The man was tasked by an Iranian intelligence service early this year with gathering information on "Jewish localities and specific Jewish individuals" in Berlin, prosecutors said. He spied on three properties in June, "presumably in preparation of further intelligence activities in Germany, possibly including terrorist attacks on Jewish targets," prosecutors said. The suspect is accused of working for an intelligence service of a foreign power. The information leading to his arrest came from Germany's domestic intelligence service, prosecutors said. The suspect will be brought before a judge in Germany to determine whether he is kept in custody pending formal charges after extradition from Denmark. It was not immediately clear when that would happen. Germany is a staunch ally of Israel and has a long history of tense relations with Tehran, though it has been one of the three leading European powers trying to engage Iran in diplomacy over its ongoing nuclear programme. In October, Germany ordered the closure of all three Iranian consulates in the country in response to the Tehran judiciary's announcement of the execution of Iranian-German prisoner Jamshid Sharmah, who was kidnapped in Dubai in 2020 by Iranian security forces. The move left Tehran with the embassy in Berlin as its only diplomatic outpost in Germany.
