Fact Check: Is the viral video claiming to show US destroyed Iran's army headquarters real?
TEHRAN, IRAN: Amid the renewed conflict between the United States and Iran following the collapse of peace negotiations, a video is circulating on social media platforms showing a building on fire, claiming to show a US attack on Iranian Army headquarters. But is the video real or fake? Let us fact-check its authenticity.
Claim: United States attacked Iran's Army headquarters
The viral video that began circulating this month shows a skyscraper engulfed in flames at night. The video is shared with the claim that the IRGC headquarters in Tehran has been obliterated and is burning uncontrollably after US strikes.
The video surfaced after explosions were reported on Iran’s Kish and Qeshm islands, Bushehr, and Bandar Abbas. Iran said it responded by targeting US military sites in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, and attacked two oil supertankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The video has garnered hundreds of thousands of views, with many questioning the clip’s authenticity, prompting a fact check.
Fact Check: False, video shows a massive fire that occurred in Hong Kong last year
Although the video is authentic, the claim that accompanied it is false. A reverse image search for the key frames found that USA Today published a longer version of the video captured from a different angle on November 26, 2025.
The report states that the clip shows a massive fire in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong on that day.
According to the report, the blaze engulfed multiple high-rise towers in a residential complex known as Wang Fuk Court, leading to 44 deaths and hundreds reported injured or missing in what was described as one of Hong Kong’s deadliest fires.
The same video was published on Instagram on that day by a Hong Kong-based media organisation called InMediaHK.
Renewed US-Iran strikes over Hormuz tensions
The video surfaced after the US launched a third round of military strikes against Iran on Saturday, July 11, after accusing Tehran of attacking a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, less than 24 hours after the Trump administration warned of consequences if Iran failed to halt attacks on the shipping route.
US officials had demanded that Iran publicly commit to keeping the strategic strait open and cease targeting commercial vessels.
"We want them to publicly say that they will stop shooting at ships...every channel in the strait will be open," one US official said. A second official warned Tehran of consequences if it refused: "It is not gonna be a great day for them."
