Iran claimed to have targeted US military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, including Ali Al Salem Air Base and Azraq Air Base, in response to US strikes on Iranian coastal defence and missile sites. The escalation coincided with Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting oil shipping and pushing Brent crude prices higher.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which massive explosions and towering flames can be seen.
The video is shared with a caption claiming that it shows an Iranian strike on a major US military base in the Gulf region.
A social media user shared the video and wrote, “America’s story is finished. Iran bombs the largest military base in the Gulf.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is from a 2020 warehouse fire in Kuwait.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by a Facebook page on July 29, 2020.
The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Dasman | Some explosions occurred during the fire at the Sulaibiya agricultural warehouses due to gas cylinders used for refilling air conditioners, posing a danger to firefighters responding to the incident. The fire stations that responded included: Sulaibikhat, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Subhan, Al-Tahrir, Al-Bidaa, and Al-Shuhada…”
We further found that the same video was shared by the official Instagram account of the Kuwaiti fire force on July 29, 2020.
The video is shared with a caption that reads, “The explosions that occurred in the fire at the Sulaibiya agricultural warehouses were caused by the explosion of gas cylinders used to fill air conditioning units. #General_Fire_Department.”
The video was also shared by a Kuwaiti website, Alanba, on July 30, 2020.
According to the report associated with the video, a massive fire broke out in four warehouses storing petroleum products, electrical equipment, air-conditioning spare parts, and fibreglass in Kuwait’s Sulaibiya Agricultural Area early Wednesday.
Eight firefighting teams, supported by the Kuwaiti Army and National Guard, brought the blaze under control after nearly seven hours. Authorities launched an investigation, noting the warehouses were illegally operating in an agricultural zone and lacked required fire safety measures, contributing to the severity of the incident.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is false.
