The Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Major General Abdollahi, warned that the conflict in the Middle East could expand, accusing the United States of rapidly pushing the region toward a broader war. He warned that ‘any country cooperating with the United States will be consumed by the flames of war.’
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which a massive explosion with large flames and thick smoke can be seen.
In the video, we can see a person watching from a window and showing a massive fire engulfing a large area with a plume of smoke rising from it. While showing the fire, the man speaks in Uzbek, which, when translated into English, reads, “Yaman suddenly stormed off toward the customs gate. I have no idea why. He was already in a foul mood. I was passing by the customs gate. It was quiet—eerily so.”
The video is shared with a caption suggesting that it shows a recent Iranian strike that destroyed a military base in Iraq. A social media user shared the video and wrote, “Iran destroyed all military bases in Iraq today. Thank you, Iran.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is from 2024 and shows massive explosion near a warehouse at Tashkent International Airport in Uzbekistan.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a Russian website, Ozodlik, on September 28, 2023. We can see the at around 6 seconds, the same video, in which the man is seen showing the explosion from inside the window. We can see the same house with a street light in its front as seen in the viral video. Also, the flare and plume arising from the fire is also the same.
The video is shared with a caption that reads, “A 16-year-old teenager was killed and 163 people were injured in an explosion at a warehouse in the Kuruchikal neighborhood of the Sergeli district of Tashkent.”
We found that the screenshot of the video was also shared by another Russian website, Central Asia. News on September 28, 2023.
The story associated with the screenshot suggests that a massive explosion struck a warehouse in Tashkent’s Sergeli district on the night of September 27–28, triggering a criminal investigation into alleged fire safety violations. The fire, which began around 2:43 am, spread across nearly 10,000 square metres before the blast shattered nearby apartment windows. The incident injured 163 people, killed one teenager, and hospitalised 24. Warehouse operators said no explosive materials were stored at the site.
We further found that the same video was also shared by another Spanish website, Unitel, on September 27, 2023, suggesting that it shows an explosion recorded near an airport in Uzbekistan’s capital. The report also quoted the Ministry of Health, according to which a fire broke out overnight at this warehouse in the capital, with several injured people being taken to the hospital.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.