A fake claim about Iran’s nuclear ambitions was started with an anonymous X account in India and within hours it found its way into Israeli media, US political circles and even a speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The claim surfaced on August 5, when an alleged Indian X account posted that Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Iran would never give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons as long as Israel and the US had them.
The quote claimed Vahidi said: "As long as the United States and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security."
The post showed Vahidi’s picture alongside an AI-generated image of a mushroom cloud. There was no evidence that Vahidi had made the statement though. There was also no evidence that Iran developed a nuclear weapon. That did not stop the post from taking off, The New York Times reported.
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{{/usCountry}}From X to Israeli TV
The post, which had been shared by an account with around 1.75 lakh followers, was soon picked up allegedly by another Indian account with about 82,000 followers. A Hindi translation helped push it to a wider audience.
An Israeli account called Mossad Commentary then amplified the claim, suggesting Iran was stalling and not negotiating in good faith. The account has no confirmed connection to Israel’s intelligence agency.
Around 30 minutes later, Israel’s Channel 14 aired the quote in English and described it as Iran’s first public admission that it was working towards building a nuclear bomb.
Yair Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister’s son, also shared the claim. Within less than three hours, the unverified quote reached Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Netanyahu cites the claim
That evening, Netanyahu referred to the allegation during remarks at Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery in Jerusalem. The fake quote was presented as evidence of Iran’s alleged nuclear intentions.
By then, the claim also crossed into US political circles.
Mike Waltz, the Trump administration’s ambassador to the United Nations, reposted it on X, writing that Iran was "finally admitting what's been obvious for years."
Republican Senator Rick Scott also shared the claim, while Fox News discussed it on air, with anchors and guests citing it as evidence of Iran’s alleged duplicity. Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer read the statement on air and said: "That's as close to an admission as I've heard, and we've been watching this story for years."
The channel's on-screen chyron said, “IRGC Vows to Keep Nukes”.
Waltz later deleted his post without giving an explanation.
Iran calls it a ‘flood of lies’
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei dismissed the viral claim as "an example of the flood of lies against the Islamic Republic."
Baghaei accused Israel of being behind such claims. He also said similar accusations had been used for years to justify bombing Iran.
Iran has faced international scrutiny over its nuclear programme for decades. Tehran maintains that its nuclear activities are aimed at civilian purposes, while the US and Israel have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons.