Claim: A video shows Shashi Tharoor calling out the Indian government for “strategic failure” amidst Pakistan mediating a ceasefire for the US-Israel war on Iran.
Fact: The clip’s audio is digitally manipulated. Tharoor did not make any such statement about the Indian government in the original interview. The video is actually from the end of last year, before the war..
On 8 and 9 April 2026, users on X and Facebook shared a video of Indian politician Shashi Tharoor’s interview with news anchor Rajdeep Sardesai on India Today. A headline on the screen reads, “India Loses At Global Stage.”
The clip shows Tharoor saying:
“If you saw Donald Trump’s latest tweet crediting Pakistan with stepping in to end the Iranian war, you know why I am in shock. It feels like a massive strategic failure by the Indian government. I have never criticised Prime Minister Modi or the BJP before, but today silence is just blind loyalty. The harsh reality is that Pakistan is taking centre stage, rebranding itself as a global net provider of stability. Meanwhile, India is bleeding diplomatic capital, and rapidly losing its influence on the world stage. And what is our country focused on? The entire nation is distracted, cheering for movies like Dhurandhar 2. We are celebrating cinematic fantasies while losing in the real world. I am speaking out today because we can no longer afford to be distracted while the global order shifts against us.”
Journalist Omar Qureshi shared the video (archive) on his X account, and quoted Tharoor’s comments in the caption: “Massive failure by the Indian government: MP Shashi Tharoor.”
An account on Facebook, with the name of Asif Haroon, also shared the video with the caption, “India acknowledges and admits the victory of Pakistan at the diplomatic front! Shashi Tharoor rips apart the Modi Government.”
Aaj TV, a Pakistani news channel, also shared the clip in a news broadcast, which can be found on their YouTube channel. In the video, titled “Pakistan Positive Role Globally | India Silent on Israel | Shashi Tharoor,” the anchorperson quoted Tharoor’s comments, saying he appreciated Pakistan’s global position and criticised the Indian government.
US-Israel war on Iran
On 28 February 2026, the US and Israel launched a joint offensive codenamed “Operation Epic Fury” and “Operation Roaring Lion,” respectively, and assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members, as well as numerous top military and security officials, leading to the appointment of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the successor on 9 March.
The conflict has seen significant casualties, with Iran’s Health Ministry reporting over 2,000 deaths — including 160 children in a school bombing in Minab — and 26,500 wounded people, as well as the displacement of 3.2 million people, alongside the targeting of the historic Golestan Palace.
Islamabad Talks
Pakistan hosted high-level negotiations, the “Islamabad Talks,” between the US and Iran in the federal capital on 10 and 11 April 2026, after brokering a two-week ceasefire. The development came after Rapid Response 47, the official account for White House’s urgent statements, shared US President Donald Trump’s statement on 8 April 2026. Trump openly credited Pakistan for being a mediator for the ceasefire.
He wrote, “Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also shared a statement announcing a ceasefire on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on the same day. The statement read, “On behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I express my gratitude and appreciation for my dear brothers Prime Minister of Pakistan Sharif and Field Marshal Munir for their tireless efforts to end the war in the region.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also shared news of the ceasefire on his X account, and extended an invitation to delegations from both the countries “to further negotiate for a conclusive agreement to settle all disputes” on 10 April 2026, in Islamabad.
The Iranian delegation, composed of the Speaker of the Iranian Consultative Assembly Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and FM Araghchi, arrived during the early hours of 11 April 2026. The US delegation, including US Vice President JD Vance, US Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, also arrived later that day.
The Islamabad Talks then ended after 21 hours without reaching a deal. Before leaving for the US, VP Vance conducted a press briefing on the morning of 12 April 2026 and announced, “We have not reached an agreement, and I think that’s bad news for Iran much more than it’s bad news for the United States of America.”
However, on 15 April 2026, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned during a presser that the next round of talks will likely be held in the “same place as before,” hinting US delegation’s another trip to Islamabad. Following the update, the Red Zone area of Islamabad was sealed, along with several other routes for security purposes.
Vance was expected to arrive with his delegation on 22 April 2026 but the White House abruptly changed plans. On the other hand, the Iranian delegation also delayed its decision on participation.
After a lot of back and forth, the Iranian delegation, led by foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, arrived on the night of 24 April 2026. They arrived after Leavitt confirmed Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff’s participation from the US. However, Trump canceled the US envoy’s trip at the last minute, saying that they would “be wasting too much time.”
Fact of Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted a reverse-image search for the video, and found a link to an interview on India Today’s website which dated back to 26 December 2025. The video was titled “Shashi Tharoor: ‘No BJP Or Congress Foreign Policy, Only Indian National Interest.”
The host and Tharoor are wearing the same clothes as in the video in the claim. They are also sitting in front of the same backgrounds, indicating that this India Today video is likely the original source of the one in the claim.
Top: Screenshot of India Today’s original interview from 26 December 2025, Bottom: Claim under investigation, posted on 9 April 2026
Soch Fact Check reviewed the full interview which centers around Tharoor’s assertion that “there is no such thing as a BJP or Congress foreign policy; there is only Indian national interest.” The discussion also included topics like India’s Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in May 2025 and impact of US tariffs on the Indian economy. He did not make any remarks attributed to him in the claim.
The subject and date of the interview show that it is not linked to US-Israel’s war on Iran, and the interview predates “Operation Epic Fury”.
In the original interview, Tharoor can be observed speaking naturally whereas the video in the claim shows him speaking in a more robotic, monotonous tone, with a slightly stiffened jaw .
Suspecting that fake audio has been overlaid on to this original interview from December 2025, Soch Fact Check tested the audio using multiple deepfake detection tools online. First, we tested the audio on Hiya Deepfake Voice Detector using two phrases, “Trump’s latest tweet crediting Pakistan” and “Pakistan is rebranding itself.”
The first phrase showed an authenticity score of 28/100. The tool indicated that the sampled voice is “likely a deepfake.”
The second phrase showed an even lower authenticity score i.e. 20/100, indicating that the sampled voice is “likely a deepfake.”
Authenticity score of the audio by Hiya deepfake voice detector
Both the scores confirmed that the audio had been manipulated.
Tharoor also took to his X account where he called out the “alarming number of deepfake videos” of him.
He wrote, “There are an alarming number of deepfake videos circulating of me, with convincing-sounding AI generated voice-overs over genuine footage of old interviews, having ‘me’ saying things I have never said.”
Tharoor’s X post on 9 April 2026
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the claim is false as fake audio has been overlaid on to an original video of Shashi Tharoor’s interview from December 2025.
Virality
The post was shared on Facebook here, here, here and here.
It was shared on X here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The audio in the clip has been digitally manipulated. The original interview predates the US-Israel war on Iran, and Tharoor made no such remarks in it.