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Amid escalating missile strikes between Israel and Iran, social media is rife with videos and images claiming to show scenes from the destruction.

Israel first launched its strikes against Iran's capital of Tehran on Friday, killing more than 200 people, while Iran's retaliatory strikes killed at least 24 people in Israel.

There are roughly 3,500 ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥s in Iran and another 6,700 in Israel, according to Global Affairs Canada. 

Some of the videos shared on social media related to the conflict are authentic; others show evidence of being generated with artificial intelligence (AI) or mislead about when or where an event took place. Here is a look at some of those videos. 

VIDEO DOES NOT SHOW IRANIAN OFFICIALS FLEEING COUNTRY 

On Instagram, claimed to show video of Iranian officials fleeing in cars driven across an airport tarmac after Israel's strikes on Iran. 

"The families of Iran’s Islamic regime are reportedly fleeing the country on private jets," the user wrote. The video was on the X platform, formerly Twitter, with a similar claim. 

RATING: False

As eagle-eyed X users pointed out in a community note, and a reverse image search confirmed, the video does not appear to be recent. 

A was originally posted by a travel YouTube channel July 3, 2023 and referred to the Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. The logo on a plane visible in the video matches that of private Iranian airline , which operates out of the airport. 

In both videos, the same plane is parked at the gate; the baggage carts are lined up on the tarmac in an identical formation; the same two vehicles pass by each other; and a plane is parked in the same place on the tarmac. 

In the Instagram video, there are only a few differences, such as the background audio. The video zooms in to the plane on the tarmac as three cars drive toward it, with a fourth car on the tarmac in the foreground. 

However, when the camera zooms in the white vehicle in the foreground stops moving, while in the YouTube video it keeps heading toward the right, suggesting the video may have been digitally altered with the cars added.

VIDEO DOES NOT SHOW DESTRUCTION OF MOSSAD HEADQUARTERS

On and , posters claimed video of a large fire in the middle of a city square showed the destruction of the headquarters for Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, in the administrative capital of Tel Aviv. 

RATING: False

Once again, a Google reverse image search proved the video is unrelated to Iran's recent missile strikes on Israel. 

While reports of the destruction of Mossad headquarters are unverified, the video claiming to show that destruction is actually from China, not Israel. 

Multiple videos from different angles from and Chinese social media site , as well as news reports from and the , show the fire actually took place at a motorcycle parking lot in Chongqing, China on June 11.

PHOTO AND VIDEO DO NOT SHOW DESTRUCTION OF MOSSAD HEADQUARTERS; SHOW EVIDENCE OF AI 

An claimed Iran bombed Mossad headquarters and the Israel Defense Forces' intelligence unit 8200. 

The post included a photo of a destroyed building bearing the letters "Mosad" and a video of an explosion that supposedly affected Mossad or the unit. 

RATING: AI generated 

Both the photo and video bear signs of AI manipulation. 

The Mossad in English as "Mossad," but the logo on its supposed headquarters uses only one "s."

Few photos of Mossad's headquarters exist online and the building is not accessible to the public. The photo of the "Mosad" building hasn't been published by Israeli or international media, according to a keyword and reverse image search. 

The video is a fake, generated with AI. A Google reverse image search shows it was known for AI creations. The user posted the video in May, before the current Israel-Iran conflict. 

The sound in the video, which features people screaming, is not authentic. It's a TikTok sound called "Disaster Today," of other videos from that creator and others. 

The AI video has since spread out of context, like in the X post, and in other TikTok videos featuring AI like that includes AI-generated videos of destruction at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. 

SOURCES

Vanessa Tiberio. Around 80,000 ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥s in the Middle East amid Israel-Iran conflict: Global Affairs. ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥website. June 17, 2025 ()

Claim about Iranian officials fleeing country from June 14, 2025 on (, ) and ()

Mahan Air from June 15, 2025 

Video of fire linked to Mossad headquarters destruction posted June 17, 2025 to () and ()

100 E-bikes Explode and Burn Beneath a Chinese High-Rise, Thick Smoke Rising, Workers Horrified. China Observer, on . June 13, 2025 (, )

Hebei News post about fire on Weibo . June 11, 2025 ()

Large fire breaks out at motorcycle parking lot in China's Chongqing. Reuters via MSN . June 12, 2025 ()

Large fire breaks out at motorcycle parking lot in China. BBC News on . June 12, 2025 ()

Claim about Mossad headquarters and unit 8200 from June 17, 2025 ()

Mossad — Israeli Secret Intelligence Service via Government of Israel English . Accessed June 17, 2025 ()

TikTok of AI explosion used in Mossad claims posted ()

Disaster Today , accessed June 17, 2025 ()

AI video using fake explosion footage from . May 22, 2025 ()

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NOTE TO READERS: This fact check was updated on June 18, 2025 to clarify that Tel Aviv is the administrative capital of Israel. A previous version of the story incorrectly left out the word "administrative."