A 2022 video showing skydivers performing a stunt with flares over the Dubai night skyline is being falsely shared as footage of Iranian retaliatory missile strikes in Dubai amid the ongoing Israel-US-Iran conflict.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, 2026, at the age of 86 in a major US-Israeli attack on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf Arab states with US bases, including the United Arab Emirates. The UAE was reportedly hit by a wave of Iranian missiles, leading to the suspension of flight operations at Dubai International Airports.
The Claim: Video shows Iranian retaliatory strikes in Dubai
The video is being shared on X with the claim that it shows Iranian missiles striking Dubai, visible in the night skyline.
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What We Found:
1) Old Video from 2022
We ran a reverse image search using Google Lens and search results showed that the video dates back to December 2022, and is not from the recent Iranian airstrikes in Dubai.
The original video was uploaded on December 12, 2022, by the Instagram account “Lovin Dubai,” a Dubai-based media company, which described it as a skydiving flare stunt.
After the video went viral with claims that it showed meteoroids or asteroids over Dubai’s skyline, the account posted a clarification stating that the Dubai Astronomy Group confirmed the phenomenon was “definitely not a meteor shower,” but rather “skydivers and the flares they are using.”