Fact Check: Does viral explosion footage capture recent US military action in Iran?
TEHRAN, IRAN: Following the renewed missile and drone strikes between the United States and Iran earlier this month, straining the fragile ceasefire, a video began circulating on social media platforms showing a massive explosion. Users claimed the footage showed recent US military action inside Iran, sparking widespread speculation and concern.
The clip quickly gained traction across multiple platforms, with millions of views and shares as online users linked it to the latest escalation between Washington and Tehran. Let us fact-check the claim.
Claim: Viral explosion footage is linked to recent US military action in Iran
The viral video shows a massive explosion sending a cloud of smoke into the air. The footage has been shared with claims that it depicts either an Iranian air force base hit by US strikes or a US base in Kuwait attacked by Iran.
Several accounts on X, Facebook, Threads, and Instagram are sharing two angles of the video, garnering millions of views and triggering concerns about renewed tensions in the Middle East. Others have remained skeptical and questioned its authenticity, prompting a fact check.
Fact Check: Video shows fireworks factory explosion in Malta
Although the video is authentic, the claim behind it is false. A reverse image search for key frames from the clip revealed that the incident was from an explosion at the Ta' Lourdes Fireworks Factory in Malta on June 1st.
Maltese news outlets, Times of Malta and Malta Today, also shared the video filmed in the Maghtab area on the northern side of the Mediterranean island.
According to the reports, although two men suffered minor injuries in fields nearby, none of the factory's licensed workers were on site when the blast occurred.
The footage also corresponds with Google Street View imagery of St. Paul's Bay, opposite the site of the explosion.
US-Iran tensions rise after recent military strikes
The video surfaced after the US conducted what it described as "self-defense strikes" against Iranian military infrastructure. According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), American forces struck radar installations and drone command-and-control sites in Goruk, Iran, and on Qeshm Island on May 30 and May 31.
CENTCOM said in a statement that the operation was launched in response to "aggressive Iranian actions," including the shootdown of a US MQ-1 drone.
"US fighter aircraft swiftly responded by eliminating Iranian air defenses… two one-way attack drones that posed clear threats to ships transiting regional waters."
Meanwhile, on June 1, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that it had targeted what it described as the source of a US attack on a telecommunications tower on Sirri Island in southern Iran.
Iranian state media reported that the IRGC targeted an air base allegedly used by US forces during the operation.
