Claim: China gave Pakistan and Iran the “go-ahead” to atomically bomb Israel.
Fact: China did not give any such go-ahead to Pakistan or Iran, but instead advocated for peaceful resolution to the Iran-Israel conflict. Pakistan also distanced itself from using nuclear weapons against Israel to support Iran.
On 25 May 2025, amid the escalation between Iran and Israel, a Facebook page by the name of KHOJI TV posted a video claiming China had given Pakistan and Iran the green light to launch a nuclear attack on Israel. The caption of the post read as follows:
“PAK-Iran Joint Nuclear Explosion | China Gives Green Signal | KHOJI TV
#Khojitv
#TalhaFilms
#khojitvlatest”
Israel’s attack on Iran
Iran and Israel engaged in an intense military “12-day conflict” that began on 13 June this year, when Israel launched an attack on Iran, killing its top military leadership, six nuclear scientists, and damaging some of its key nuclear sites. The attack also struck residential areas, killing hundreds of civilians.
In the days that followed, Israel struck Iran’s oil and gas facilities as well. According to a 30 June report by the Associated Press (AP), which cited the Washington-based Human Rights Activists group, more than 1,000 people were killed in Israel’s attacks in Iran, including at least 417 civilians.
Iran’s retaliatory strikes
On 13 and 14 June, Iran fired a barrage of missiles and launched hundreds of armed drones at Israel, some of which were reportedly intercepted by Jordan and also spotted in Iraq’s airspace. According to an Israeli military official, the country’s air defences shot down many of the 100 drones. On 24 June, the AP reported that up to 24 people were killed and over 1,000 injured in Israel, according to the Human Rights Activists group.
US enters the war
The United States entered the war on 21 June 2025, striking three of Iran’s major nuclear sites. Iran retaliated by launching strikes on the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, marking one of the largest direct strikes by Tehran on “US targets in the region”.
On 23 June, President Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, which was declared effective the following day.
Fact or Fiction?
If China had indeed greenlit or approved Pakistan and Iran dropping atomic bombs on Israel, it would likely be widely reported on. However, Google searches for “China Pakistan nuclear Israel” and “China Iran nuclear Israel” did not yield any relevant results. On the contrary, Reuters reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping had urged de-escalation during the Iran-Israel conflict.
To confirm if Pakistan had pledged such support to Iran during the escalation, we ran a Google search for “Pakistan nuke Israel Tehran”, which led to an article in The New Indian Express dated 16 June, which claimed Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had dismissed this claim in the parliament.
We then searched for “Ishaq Dar Parliament Iran Israel” on YouTube, which led us to a video report by Samaa TV from 16 June. The report shows Dar addressing the National Assembly. During the address, he mentioned the claim circulating on social media that an Iranian military official, Mohsen Rezaee, said that Pakistan would drop an atomic bomb on Israel if the latter dropped one on Iran. News reports from Albanian outlet A2 CNN, Greece’s Millet News, and Turkey’s Türkiye Today corroborated that Rezaee had said this on 15 June on Iranian state television. However, during the National Assembly session, Dar refuted the claim as irresponsible and false news (“غیر ذمے دارانه اور جھوٹی خبر”), in addition to expressing his surprise at the news being picked by the UK’s Daily Mail.
It should be noted that Rezaee also stated in his interview that “We [Iran] will still refrain from pursuing a nuclear bomb [in the current conflict]”.
Virality
On Facebook, the video claiming China gave a green light to Pakistan and Iran to atomically bomb Israel has amassed 7.4 million views.
Conclusion: China did not give the go-ahead to Pakistan and Iran to atomically bomb Israel.
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Background image in cover photo: The Express Tribune