No, this image does not show an attack on Iran’s IRGC Aerospace Force HQ in Tehran

What’s the claim?

An image of an explosion shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) claims to depict an attack at Iran's "Force and Space Headquarters" in Tehran. An X user captioned the image: "#Breaking: Iran: According to an Arab report, there has been an unknown attack in Tehran involving an explosion at Iran's force and space headquarters." The post garnered approximately 38,000 views and over 300 likes. An archived version of the post can be accessed here.

Screenshot of the social media post. (Source: X/Screenshot/ Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. The image reportedly shows Israeli forces attacking Syria in November 2020 and is not from Iran.

What are the facts?

A Google reverse image search revealed that the image is three years old. It appeared in a November 25, 2020, report by Now 14, an Israeli TV channel. The report, written in Hebrew and translated using Google Translate, cited the Syrian official news agency stating that the Israeli Air Force had attacked Iranian targets near Quneitra and Damascus in southern Syria. 

Screenshot of the Now 14 news report. (Source: Now 14/Screenshot)

A Times of Israel report, also dated November 25, 2020, indicated that the previous day's attack targeted Iranian sites and resulted in only material damage with no casualties.

On November 25, 2020, an anonymous Syrian Military source spoke to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), stating that the attack occurred at 11:50 p.m. on November 24, 2020. The source noted that the Syrian Army had countered the Israeli aggression on November 18, 2020, intercepting many missiles aimed at southern Syria.

A news report on the explosion, published on November 25, 2020, by Turkish news agency Haber365, also featured the viral image, along with others. The X account of Syria Al Watan News shared several photos from the November 24 attack, including the viral image.

The viral posts falsely claimed the explosion occurred at Iran’s Force and Space Headquarters in Tehran. Assuming this refers to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force headquartered in Tehran, we found several unverified reports from December 18, 2023, claiming that a massive explosion had occurred at this facility.

However, Iranian authorities have not confirmed any such incident. While Logically Facts could not independently verify if the photo depicted an incident in Syria, the photo is at least three years old and thus predates any recent events in Tehran, Iran.

The verdict

A three-year-old image, reportedly depicting an Israeli airstrike on Syria, has been misrepresented as showing a recent incident in Iran. This claim is, therefore, marked as false.