"Iranian attacks celebrating the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei"... What is the truth of the footage?

Social media accounts circulated a video clip claiming it showed scenes of an Iranian attack on the city of Tel Aviv in Israel.

“Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Social media accounts circulated a video clip claiming it showed scenes of an Iranian attack on the city of Tel Aviv in Israel, shortly after Mujtaba Khamenei was named the country's Supreme Leader, succeeding his father”

CNN Arabic

The circulation occurred shortly after Mujtaba Khamenei was named the country's Supreme Leader, succeeding his father.

CNN Arabic

The video received more than two million views on the X platform alone.

The spread was fueled by misleading comments saying: "The Iranians celebrated in their own way with the appointment of the new leader and the party was in Tel Aviv," and "Total blackout in Tel Aviv! A violent Iranian attack on Israel's main power stations, where they were completely destroyed, power centers destroyed, and oil refineries set on fire."

A fact-check by CNN Arabic revealed that the video is old, unrelated to the recent Iranian missile attacks against Israel, and did not come after the appointment of Mujtaba Khamenei.

CNN Arabic found that the video first appeared during Israeli airstrikes on northern Gaza during the early days of the war in the enclave.

CNN Arabic

CNN Arabic identified a version dated 9 October 2023 with a caption saying: "Video: A terrifying night. Pitch darkness in Gaza. Israel stops supplies of water, electricity and fuel to Gaza."

The circulation of the video coincided with Iran launching attacks on a number of Gulf countries and Israel on Sunday–Monday night.

“Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Social media accounts circulated a video clip claiming it showed scenes of an Iranian attack on the city of Tel Aviv in Israel, shortly after Mujtaba Khamenei was named the country's Supreme Leader, succeeding his father”

CNN Arabic

Iran announced the appointment of Mujtaba Khamenei as the country's new Supreme Leader.

He succeeded his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on his compound in Tehran on 28 February.

CNN Arabic's check indicates the clip's timing and captions misled viewers into believing it documented the recent attacks, but the footage predates those events.