Fact Check: Did Iran attack hotel in Turkey hosting Americans and Israelis?

The video shows a large building on fire, shared with claims that it depicts a hotel in Turkey

BY SAURAV SURESH

PUBLISHED MAR 23, 2026

A viral video claims a hotel housing Americans and Israelis was set fire after an attack from Iran (@Lassegaf_1/X)

TEHRAN, IRAN: A video has been going viral on social media platforms, claiming to show a fire-engulfed hotel in Turkey, where Americans and Israelis were staying, after it was attacked by Iran. The video surfaced at a time when the conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran continues to escalate. Let us analyze the video and fact-check it.

Claim: Turkish hotel housing Americans and Israelis attacked by Iran

A video showing a large building on fire is being shared with claims that it depicts a hotel in Turkey that is housing Americans and Israelis (@Lassegaf_1/X)

A video showing a large building on fire is being shared with claims that it depicts a hotel in Turkey that is housing Americans and Israelis, which was allegedly targeted by Iran amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

The video was accompanied by a caption stating, “The hotel where Americans and Israelis who fled Israel to escape the Iranian attack will be hunted down. Today, they also blew up the hotel in Turkey where Americans and Israelis were staying.”

The video has garnered more than three hundred thousand views and thousands of likes. The comment section indicates that many believe the video to be authentic, while a few others remain skeptical, saying that it was generated using AI.

Fact Check: Fake, video is AI-generated

However, a closer analysis of the video reveals that it was generated using Artificial Intelligence, and no such incident has been reported in Turkey. It was first posted on a TikTok account, known for post AI generated contents, and the post itself is labeled as containing AI-generated media.

An analysis using AI-generated tools, such as Hive Moderation, reveals that the video is 99.4 percent likely to have been generated using AI.

Also, the helicopters that appear to circle on top of the burning building don't seem to move and stand still without their fans spinning.

Iran threatens wider retaliation amid Donald Trump's warning

A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a U.S.-Israeli strike late Saturday in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) — A thick plume of smoke rises from an oil storage facility hit by a US-Israeli strike late Saturday in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, March 8, 2026 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Tehran has threatened to dramatically widen its retaliation by targeting energy infrastructure and critical desalination facilities across the region if President Donald Trump follows through on his warning to 'obliterate' Iran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

Trump on Saturday night gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to restore passage through the strategic waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies move.

In a post on Truth Social, the US president warned that Iran’s energy infrastructure would face attack if Tehran failed to comply. The threat marks another sharp escalation in a war that has now entered its fourth week.