Claim: A viral video shows the arrest of six Indian nationals for rioting and vandalism amid ongoing anti-government protests in Iran.
Fact: There is no evidence to suggest that the arrested individuals in the video are Indians. The video contains no verifiable identifiers establishing nationality, and the circumstances in which the video was recorded are unclear. Moreover, Iran’s Ambassador to India publicly dismissed the claim as “totally false.”
On 10 January 2026, an X account, @Shadowfox_11 posted a “BREAKING” claim alleging that Iranian police had arrested “a cell comprising 10 Afghan and 6 Indian nationals, along with their Iranian accomplices.” The post further asserted that authorities said the group were the “main perpetrators” behind riots and destruction in Abadan, Khuzestan. The claim was shared alongside a 30-second video showing several men standing in a line facing a wall, and the post had garnered 258.5K views at the time of the screenshot.
A screenshot of a viral X post falsely claiming that Indian nationals were arrested for rioting during protests in Iran.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reviewed the footage which was repeatedly cited as evidence for the claim that Indian nationals were arrested during protests in Iran. The clip shows several detainees filmed indoors, with a microphone held towards them, and subtitles appear in Persian (Farsi). However, the video contains no verifiable identifiers establishing nationality. There are no names, passports, official documents, flags or on-camera statements confirming that the individuals shown are Indian nationals. As such, the clip itself does not substantiate the claim being attached to it. We then traced the provenance of the footage. The earliest identifiable context for the video appears in reporting by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
In a Telegram post dated 8 January 2026, HRANA reported that Abadan’s police commander had announced the arrest of more than 20 local protesters. The Persian-language post was headlined: “Abadan: Arrest of more than 20 citizens and broadcast of forced confessions of several individuals,” adding that it was unclear under what conditions the video was recorded. It noted that Iran’s state-linked Fars news agency had aired a video of their “forced confessions” but the conditions in which the video was recorded are unclear. This framing situates the footage within arrests of local Iranian citizens, not foreign nationals.
A screenshot from a Telegram post by HRANA showing detainees in Abadan, Iran, following protests. The footage was later misrepresented online as showing arrested Indian nationals.
The same footage circulated on X shortly thereafter. On 10 January 2026, X user@Morteza_Avini shared the video, framing it as Iranian security forces arresting “key elements” involved in riots in Abadan and praising the actions of Iran’s security forces. The post did not mention Indians or any other foreign nationals. Later the same day, journalist Ahmed Quraishi shared a link to Avini’s X post with a longer version of the clip on X, describing it as Iranian state media airing “confession” footage of “captured young Iranian men.”
A post by journalist Ahmed Quraishi describing the footage as Iranian state media “confession” clips of detained young Iranian men.
Part of this description, which states the video was “confession” footage aired by Iranian media, aligns with HRANA’s reporting and with the video’s visible elements, including the Abadan location tag and Persian-language subtitles. The Persian subtitles in the clip translate to statements such as “we burned a trash bin and threw stones at security forces,” “I was misled by online or foreign media,” “I vandalised public places and was then arrested,” and “I regret what I did.” These translations situate the footage within arrests related to unrest in Abadan, rather than showing the detention of foreign nationals.
Finally, Soch Fact Check looked for official confirmation of the alleged arrests from Iranian or Indian authorities. We did not find any announcement, press release, or advisory confirming that Indian nationals were arrested or detained in Abadan during the protests. Instead, Iran’s Ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, publicly addressed the claim on X, stating that “news circulated on some foreign X accounts about Iran’s developments is totally false,” and urged audiences to verify news through reliable sources. Following the ambassador’s statement, multiple Indian mainstream outlets reported on the clarification and noted that Iranian authorities had rejected the “Indians arrested” narrative.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found that the claim has been shared on Facebook here, here, here and here
On Instagram, it was shared here, here, here, and here
It was shared on X here and here
Conclusion
There is no verifiable evidence to suggest that the arrested individuals shown in the video are Indian nationals. Moreover, Iran’s ambassador to India has publicly dismissed the claim that any Indian nationals were arrested amid the anti-government protests.