Iran has launched attacks against Israel in retaliation for a joint Israeli-US attack that killed its supreme leader, but footage purportedly showing the impact of an Iranian missile strike on the northern Israeli port of Haifa is AI-generated. The port’s operator refuted the rumours and said the port was operating normally days after the video circulated.
“Tensions in the Middle East reached their peak after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a retaliatory strike on Israeli territory on Monday (3/2/2026),” says part of the Indonesian-language caption of a Facebook video shared on March 3, 2026.
“In the attack, the latest ‘Kheibar’ ballistic missiles reportedly succeeded in hitting the Port of Haifa, the main logistics gateway that handles 56 percent of Israel’s national cargo.”
The video appears to show a fire at a port before a sudden explosion that blankets the surrounding area with clouds of smoke.
Screenshot of the false post captured on March 17, 2026, with AI symbol and red X added by AFP
The same video was also shared in similar English, Slovak, Thai and Urdu posts as Iran and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group retaliated against a joint US-Israeli attack that killed its supreme leader Ali Khamenei on February 28 (archived link).
Besides targeting Israel, Iran has also lashed out at other nations seen as US or Israeli allies (archived here and here).
While Haifa has frequently been targeted since the start of the war, caught in crossfire from both Lebanon and Iran, the circulating video does not show an explosion in the port city (archived link).
The location shown in the clip does not resemble Google Street View imagery of the port (archived link).
The depicted incident also contradicts statements issued by the Indian multinational conglomerate Adani Group — which owns the Haifa Port Company and oversees operations at Israel’s largest port (archived link).
The group said on March 3, the day the false post was shared, that “all port assets and infrastructure are fully secure and in operational condition” (archived link).
Another statement issued on March 12 said operations at the port were “normal” and refuted claims the port had been destroyed by Iranian missiles (archived link).
Indian media NDTV broadcast footage from the port the same day, showing no major destruction (archived link).
Moreover, the circulating video contains visual inconsistencies that frequently occur in AI-generated content, such as odd-looking vehicles on the street and buildings which are distorted.
What appear to be crane barges in the port also seem to disappear when the explosion occurs.
Screenshots of the falsely shared video, with visual inconsistencies highlighted and AI symbol added by AFP
Further analysis conducted by human rights organisation WITNESS’s Deepfakes Rapid Response Force (DRRF) also found the video has a “high probability of being fake/edited” and “likely composited” (archived link).
Recod.ai, a member of the initiative, told AFP its analysis of individual frames of the video identified inconsistencies in the texture and appearance of the smoke and inconsistent lighting of the buildings.
“A shockwave of this magnitude would cause immediate and catastrophic damage,” read a separate analysis from Cauth AI, another member of the DRRF.
“In the video, the white shockwave passes through the buildings and over the street below, yet windows remain intact, and cars on the road are unmoved.”
AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the Middle East war.
