Claim: A video shows the Iranian Navy targeting a US Navy vessel in the Indian Ocean amid the ongoing war.
Fact: The video circulating online is unrelated to the ongoing Iran war as it appeared online as early as July 2022.
On 4 March, an X user posted a video (archive) purportedly showing the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting the US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean. The caption states:
“BREAKING:
The IRGC says its Navy targeted a US Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean, while it was refueling.”
It says that both the tanker ship and destroyer were targeted and smoke and fire was seen rising from their decks.”
The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, targeting multiple sites on 28 February. The strikes killed former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other Iranian officials and military figures.
In response, Iran launched multiple strikes on Israel and Gulf states, including Bahrain, UAE, Kuwait and others, some of which host US bases in the region. The war has entered its third week, with the US and Iranian governments showing no signs of letting up.
Amid unverified reports of Iran targeting US navy ships and specific air carriers, a notable claim about the USS Abraham Lincoln getting struck also emerged, which was then rejected by the US Central Command.
Moreover, a US submarine reportedly targeted and sank Iris Dena, an Iranian warship off the southern coast of Srilanka early in March. BBC’s analysis found that US and Israeli strikes had “destroyed or damaged at least 11 Iranian naval vessels…” in early March. “Images of the southern Konarak naval base and the Bandar Abbas facility, which sits on the Strait of Hormuz and houses the headquarters of the Iranian navy, show smoke billowing from multiple ships on Monday and Tuesday,” the same report said.
Amid the war, cargo, commercial vessels, and oil tankers have also been targeted in the Persian Gulf, with Iran claiming responsibility for multiple attacks.
Therefore, this article only fact-checks the video circulating online.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the video and found that it is unrelated to the ongoing war between Iran and the US and Israel.
A YouTube channel “Defense Now” posted a video titled “RIMPAC 2022 | Military forces | Australia, Canada, Malaysia, U.S. participate in a sinking exercise” on 16 July 2022. Moments from 0:15 to 0:36 match the clip being fact-checked, as shown below:
On the left is the clip being fact-checked that matches the clip from July 2022.
The description of the YouTube clip further stated that military forces from Canada, Australia, Malaysia and the US participated in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022 and sank the “decommissioned ex-USS Rodney M. Davis (FFG 60), July 12, during a sinking exercise (SINKEX)…”
RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific Exercise) is the world’s largest international maritime exercise.
A YouTube channel “Harian Metro”, a Malaysian news platform, also posted a video on 16 July 2022 with the following caption [translated from Malay into English via Google]: “KD Lekir fires first missile outside Malaysian waters”. It matches the video in the claim at 0:23, confirming that it is unrelated to the current war.
Another clip on YouTube that captures the same moments at the timestamp 0:21 also appeared on 16 July 2022.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, rates the claim as false.
Virality
The video appeared on X here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, the video was posted here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
It circulated on Facebook here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Threads, the claim was shared here and it was also shared here on TikTok.
Conclusion: The video is old and appeared online as early as July 2022.
Background image in cover photo: National Review
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