An old video from southern Iran showing parked trucks shaking violently is viral on social media with the false claim that it shows tremors caused by a recent nuclear test in the country. BOOM found that the video is from 2021, when a powerful earthquake struck the region.
The US and Israel's war with Iran has entered its 19th day, with sustained airstrikes targeting Tehran and retaliatory strikes continuing to hit neighbouring Gulf states. Iran has vowed revenge after Israeli airstrikes killed senior security official Ali Larijani and Basij paramilitary commander Gholamreza Soleimani.
The Claim:
The video is being shared on X with captions claiming it shows a recent earthquake in Iran possibly linked to nuclear tests. The posts suggest the visuals of shaking trucks and dust rising from mountains are "unnatural," questioning whether the tremors were caused by nuclear testing.
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What We Found:
1) Video from 2021
A reverse image search using Google Lens showed that the same video was posted on YouTube by TRT World on November 14, 2021.
The video's caption reads, "Footage shows the moment a powerful earthquake struck southern Iran, near the port of Bandar Abbas. The quake measured a magnitude of 6.5 by European Mediterranean Seismological Centre, and prompted residents to flee their homes."
2) News reports on 2021 Iran earthquake
We also found news reports on the 2021 earthquake in southern Iran.
Al Jazeera reported on November 14, 2021, that two powerful earthquakes struck southern Iran in quick succession, killing at least one person. The two tremors, measuring magnitudes of 6.4 and 6.3, struck just one minute apart near the island of Qeshm, close to the port city of Bandar Abbas.