A video purportedly showing External Affairs Ministry (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying India supports Israel and threatening Iran over an attack on an India-bound commercial ship is a digitally altered deepfake.
BOOM found the original press conference by Jaiswal, which shows that he did not make any such statement. Tests with multiple AI detector tools confirmed that the viral video was manipulated using AI.
In the video, the MEA spokesperson can be heard saying, "India completely and unequivocally stands with Israel in this war. I believe Prime Minister Modi has made these clear multiple times, so there should not be any doubts." The video further claims that Jaiswal says India will first confirm Iran’s role in the attacks on India-bound commercial ships and, if proven, Iran will receive a response harsher than Pakistan.
The Claim
The video was posted by X handle @Rimland_Intel with the caption, "India Issues Stern Warning to Iran Following Recent Threats Randhir Jaiswal, Spokesperson, MEA threatens Tehran for the first time, "There should be no doubt that India will first confirm that Iran is involved in doing such attacks & if confirmed, Iran will get a reply harsher than Pakistan. India does not endorse terrorism & Iran will not be spared for any act of aggression towards India." (sic)
Click here to view the post and here for an archive.
What We Found: Viral Video Is A Deepfake
1. The Original Video: The video carries a watermark of news agency Press Trust of India (PTI). A related keyword search led to the original video posted on PTI’s official X handle on March 11, 2026.
The video report quotes MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal as saying, “We remain committed to welfare of citizens residing in Gulf region; Two Indians killed, 1 is missing, when merchant vessels came under attack during current West Asia conflict”.
We listened to the video and also watched the live streaming of the press conference by MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on March 11, 2026. However, we could not find any instance where Jaiswal used such strong language or issued a warning against Iran, as claimed in the viral video.
2. AI Detector Tools Flag Manipulation: For further confirmation, the video was analysed using AI detection tools Deepfake-o-Meter, developed by the University at Buffalo, and the AI voice detection tool Hiya. Both tools assessed the video through multiple detection models and indicated that the content appears to have been manipulated using AI.
The MEA has also flagged the video as a deepfake and advised people to stay vigilant against such fake videos circulating on social media.
Reacting to reports of an attack on the India-bound Thai ship Mayuree Naree in the Strait of Hormuz on March 11, the MEA issued a statement saying India deplores the targeting of commercial shipping in the ongoing conflict in West Asia. It also stressed that attacks on commercial vessels, threats to civilian crew, and disruptions to freedom of navigation and commerce must be avoided.
