Fact check: Viral flight map showing Pakistan allowing US flights near sensitive spots on Iran border is fake

The iVerify Pakistan team reviewed this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan analysed the flight-tracking image to verify whether the aircraft mentioned actually existed in the US military and whether the mapped locations were accurate.

Posts from multiple Indian users on the social media platform X on Tuesday shared an air traffic map claiming that Pakistan is helping the United States in obtaining crucial intelligence on Iran’s sensitive sites amid the conflict with Israel. However, the image is fake with numerous discrepancies.

Nearly 80 people, including top army officers, were killed while civilians were among over 300 wounded in Iran as a result of Israel’s strikes on military sites and private residences on June 13. Iran subsequently launched its retaliation with ballistic missiles fired at Israel, and the two countries continued to exchange volleys over the weekend. Tensions have escalated since, with more than 224 Iranians killed and over 1000 injured, most of them civilians. Israel says 24 people have been killed, mostly civilians.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly declined to say if the United States would participate in Israeli military action, although he has said Washington was not involved in initial strikes, and the White House said that US forces remained in a defensive posture.

On Tuesday, an Indian account shared an airspace monitoring map showing four aircraft flying over Pakistan.

The caption of the post read: “Multiple US Air Force refuellers and an RC-135V Rivet Joint intelligence aircraft flew parallel to Iran’s sensitive corridors inside Pakistani airspace without challenge by the Pakistan Air Force today, indicating how the primarily Sunni Pakistan Army is supporting Israeli attacks on Shia Iran.”

The post received 56,100 views.

The image was also shared with similar claims by the other Indian accounts as can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here, accumulating over 381,000 views.

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality, keen public interest in the situation and widespread rumours about Pakistan’s alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

A keyword search for “Pakistan”, “Iran”, “US” and “air force” yielded no relevant credible news reports from Pakistani or international media outlets on the alleged development, nor any reports based on sources that corroborated the claims.

Examining the map showed several geographical and factual inaccuracies, which are pointed out below:

Iran is incorrectly shown to the right of Pakistan, whereas it is located to the west (left side) of Pakistan on Google Maps.

Gwadar is inaccurately placed on the extreme bottom left, across a river, while it is actually situated by the sea.

The spellings of “Jwani” and “Cahabahar” are incorrect; the correct spellings are “Jiwani” and “Chabahar” respectively, as confirmed by Google Maps.

All locations shown on the map are in Balochistan, which is a province within Pakistan, yet the map misplaces Chabahar in Pakistan and Jiwani in Iran. It even raises confusion over whether Gwadar is in Oman.

Additionally, the map wrongly positions Panjgur to the left of Chabahar, which is the opposite of what Google Maps shows.

The aircraft labelled “KC-155R” does not exist — the correct model is the KC-135R, an American military aerial refuelling tanker aircraft.

Tools to detect AI manipulation were inconclusive about the image, but Fake Image Detector indicated that it was a “computer-generated or modified image”.

Therefore, the fact-check determined that the claim about a viral flight map showing Pakistan helping the US by allowing flights close to sensitive locations near the Iran border is false. The flight map is fake with numerous discrepancies, and no report exists corroborating any such development.

Multiple claims

At the same time, iVerify Pakistan observed multiple other claims regarding the Iran-Israel conflict. Here are more claims that were debunked by the platform.

- Video of Iranian airstrikes on Israel’s Tel Aviv — FALSE

On Monday, a video was shared on X by an account that appeared to be pro-military based on its bio and past posts. The video showed what looked like a large-scale nighttime bombing or airstrike over a city, with massive orange explosions, rising plumes of smoke and widespread fire.

The caption of the post said: “The latest scenes from Tel Aviv.”

The post garnered over 792,000 views.

The same video was shared by another user on X and seen by more than 1.6 million people.

Several other X users shared the same video with a similar caption as can be seen here, here and here, collectively gaining more than 36,000 views.

A reverse image search led to an almost eight-minute-long video uploaded by CNN’s official YouTube channel on July 21, 2016.

According to the video description, the footage was originally recorded on March 21, 2003. The title of the video is “Operation Shock and Awe: Iraq, 2003.”

The video clearly shows a large-scale nighttime bombing campaign over a city, featuring massive orange explosions, rising plumes of smoke and widespread fire, identical to the visuals seen in the viral clip.

The same image was also featured in an article by The Atlantic, a US-based news outlet, titled “Photos: Looking back at the War in Iraq, 15 years after the US invaded.”

The caption beneath the photo reads: “Smoke covers government buildings in Baghdad on March 21, 2003, during a massive US-led airstrike on the Iraqi capital, part of what was billed as a ‘shock and awe’ campaign. Smoke billowed from a number of targeted sites, including one of President Saddam Hussein’s palaces,” according to an AFP correspondent (Photo credit: Ramzi Haidar / AFP / Getty).

Searching for news coverage on Operation Shock and Awe yielded an archived CNN article stating that in 2003, the United States and its allies launched Operation Iraqi Freedom, beginning with a massive aerial assault on Baghdad on March 21.

The “shock and awe” campaign targeted hundreds of locations across Iraq, including Mosul and Kirkuk, with the goal of swiftly dismantling Saddam Hussein’s regime.

Therefore, the claim that the video shows recent airstrikes on Tel Aviv is false. The footage is actually old, from Iraq, captured during the US-led “shock and awe” campaign on Baghdad in March 2003.

- Video of Iranian missiles hitting Tel Aviv — FALSE

Similarly, another video was shared on X by Iranian news outlet Tehran Times claiming to show Iranian missiles hitting Tel Aviv. The post garnered over 778,000 views.

The same video with a similar caption was also shared by another user on X. The post was seen by more than 216,000 people.

The same video was shared by several other users as well as can be seen here, here and here, collectively gaining over 56,000 views.

A reverse image search led to an X post dated October 1, 2024. The caption of that post stated: “Dozens of Iranian rockets have struck Israeli Nevatim Airbase, located east of Beersheba in southern Israel.”

The same footage was also shared by another X user on October 2, 2024.

The previous videos were shared in the context of the October 2024 outbreak of violence between Iran and Israel.

Therefore, the claim that the video shows a recent missile strike on Tel Aviv amid the current Israel-Iran tensions is false. The viral clip is unrelated to the current bout of conflict between Iran and Israel and has been shared as far back as the October 2024 violence between the two countries and attacks on Israel’s Nevatim Airbase.

- Video of fire at Israeli power plant after Iranian attack — FALSE

On June 13, a video was shared on X by a user claiming it showed a massive fire at a power plant in Israel. The caption said: “Iran has shaken and destroyed Israel. The bravest country standing for Palestine. This is history!”

The post garnered over 108,000 views.

A similar video with the same claim was posted by another user, gaining more than 266,000 views. Several other users on X also circulated the same video with similar claims as can be seen here, here, here, here, and here.

On YouTube, the same video was shared by multiple users with similar captions as can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here.

The same claim was shared on Instagram by a user and received over 19,000 likes.

A reverse image search led to an Instagram post from May 8, 2025, with the caption: “Electric station / Sanaa / follow me to get all the latest.” The video shared by the user is the same as that of the viral video.

Several power plants were attacked by Israel in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa in May, according to credible international media outlets.

Therefore, the claim that the video shows an Iranian airstrike on an Israeli power plant is false. The footage predates the recent escalation between Iran and Israel and was previously shared in connection with Israeli attacks on Yemen’s Sanaa.

- Video of chaotic scenes inside Israeli bunker — FALSE

On June 17, an X user shared a video of a crowd brawling in an enclosed space with the following caption: “And the fight began. Live from Tel Aviv Bunker”.

The post gained 755,000 views.

It was also shared here, here, here, here and here, racking up 396,000, 598,000, 29,000, 14,000 and 47,000 views respectively.

The video with the same claim also went viral across different social media platforms, including on Facebook here, and on YouTube here, here, here, here and here.

A reverse image search yielded an X post from a member of the Georgia-based political party, Droa, as per the user’s bio, featuring the same video.

Posted on June 12, 2025, the caption read: “Happening now at regime prisoner Mate Devidze’s sham trial.”

A keyword search for “Mate Devidze” and “trial” on X yielded multiple videos from the same location by journalists and local media outlets in Georgia.

Further investigation led to a Facebook post from Radio Tavisupleba, an independent media outlet in Georgia, featuring a 13-minute video titled, “Mate Devidze’s verdict”.

At the six-minute mark, footage captured a brawl outside the courtroom, showing Georgian authorities forcibly confronting protesters.

The uniforms worn by the officials matched those seen in the viral clip, confirming that the video originated in Georgia.

According to media outlet OC Media, nationwide protests broke out after 21-year-old Mate Devidze was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for allegedly striking police officers with a stick during demonstrations against electoral fraud in October’s parliamentary elections.

Before the verdict was announced by the Tbilisi court on June 12, chaos erupted outside the courtroom as hundreds of supporters attempted to enter the building to witness the conclusion of the trial. Court bailiffs failed to organise a proper queue for the small courtroom, resorting instead to pushing people back and eventually ejecting most of them from the premises.

Therefore, the claim that a video shows chaotic scenes inside an Israeli bunker amid the conflict with Iran is false. The video shows chaos in a Georgian courtroom.

- Video of Haifa oil refinery damaged by Iranian attack — FALSE

On Tuesday, an X user — who appears to be a Lebanese activist based on their past posts — shared a 29-second clip showing a massive explosion at a production plant.

The caption of the post said: “New update: The Bazan Oil Refinery in Haifa has been hit — with damage to pipeline systems and fires breaking out at the site.”

The post garnered 422,200 views and 1,800 reshares.

The same clip was also circulated by other X users, as seen here, here, here, here, here and here, further amplifying its reach by 922,970 views.

Similarly, Pakistani users also shared the same clip which can be seen here and here, getting over 189,000 views.

A reverse image search yielded a November 26, 2015 video uploaded on Military.com, which describes itself as the leading news and information website for US service members.

The title of the video read, “Explosion at chemical plant in Zhejiang, China” while the description said the incident occurred on November 17, 2015

The incident was also covered by British publication The Mirror and Manufacturing.net.

According to the reports, the video initially shows flames and smoke spewing from part of the plant, with firefighters apparently combatting the blaze. The plant subsequently erupts in a series of explosions as smoke billows high into the air.

Therefore, the claim that a video shows an oil refinery in Haifa damaged amid the conflict with Iran is false. The video is of a fire in a chemical plant in China from November 2015.

This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.