Fact Check: Did Iran release list of US cities it will target?
TEHRAN, IRAN: The ongoing US-Israel war against Iran, now in its second week, has seen significant Iranian retaliatory actions targeting both Israel and US interests.
The conflict started on February 28, with joint US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior officials.
Recently, a rumor circulated online claiming that Iran released a list of US cities it will target. But is there any truth to this rumor? Let us find out below.
Claim: Iran releases list of US cities it will target
Several social media posts raised concerns amid the ongoing Iran war about a list of US cities and military bases Iran has allegedly planned to attack. Internet users claimed the lists came from Iranian leaders.
An Instagram user shared a video making the bold claim, as the text in the clip read, "IRAN DROPPED A LIST. SUMMER IS CANCELED."
The list of 11 cities included technology and government hubs, such as Washington, DC, and San Francisco, along with places with military bases, from Honolulu to Omaha, Nebraska, to Shreveport, Louisiana.
The list was further shared on Facebook, where a user captioned the post, "IRAN JUST DROPPED A LIST OF US TARGETS."
Fact Check: False, no credible evidence to back the claim
The claims made in the online posts are false, as there is no evidence that Iran released a list of US cities it will target.
Moreover, the Daily Mail first published a list mentioning which US cities would be vulnerable to nuclear attacks in 'World War 3'. The International Business Times also presented the list in a January 2026 article with the headline "Full list of 15 US cities on nuclear target if 'World War 3' erupts — is yours one of them?"
Alex Wellerstein, a Stevens Institute of Technology nuclear historian, informed PolitiFact that the most vulnerable cities depend on the adversary launching the attack.
"In general, I would emphasize that no matter the scenario imagined, we do not know the war plans that such nations have, and so could only speculate based on what we think their targeting philosophy, strategic goals, and technical capabilities are," the nuclear historian told the outlet.
Meanwhile, a 2025 federal government assessment estimated that Iran is years away from producing long-range missiles that could reach the continental US.
Wellerstein said in an email to Politifact, "I do not think Iran has the nuclear capabilities to attack the continental US. I don't think they have a nuclear capability at all. There is no reason to think that even if they did have a nuclear capability, that they had any technical means of reaching the United States with it."
