On October 13–14, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis struck a Saudi Aramco administrative building in Dhahran, causing a limited fire but no reported injuries. Reports said the missile hit and damaged upper floors, including executive offices. The Houthis claimed further attacks on Aramco facilities and Riyadh’s airport, while debris from intercepted missiles injured four people in Riyadh.
In the above context, a video showing a massive explosion and a towering fire at what appears to be a fuel storage facility has gone viral on social media. In the video, we can also see someone recording the video from a distance and a bike standing still on the road.
The video is shared with a caption claiming that it captures a Houthi missile strike targeting Saudi Aramco oil stations in Saudi Arabia.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “ARAMCO HIT. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. This is going to end in tears for Saudi Arabia.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is misleading. The viral video is from August 2026 and shows a fuel depot fire in Iraq.
On a Google reverse image search, we found that the same video was shared by an Instagram page, Anews, on August 18, 2026, with a caption that reads, “A massive fire and explosion tore through a major fuel storage depot near Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq on August 17, triggering multiple secondary blasts. Around 30 people were injured, and 38 fuel tankers were destroyed, according to local officials. More than 3 million litres of fuel were consumed by the blaze, while no deaths were reported.”
We further found that the video was also shared by the YouTube channel of TRT World, a Turkey-based media channel, on August 18.
The video was shared with a caption that reads, “A massive fuel explosion and fire erupted at a major fuel storage depot near Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq, on August 17. The blaze triggered multiple secondary explosions, injured at least 20 people and destroyed 38 fuel tankers, according to local officials. More than 3 million litres of fuel were consumed in the fire, while no fatalities were reported.”
Taking a hint, we searched with relevant keywords and found that the incident was also reported by AA, a Middle East-based website, on August 18.
According to the report, on August 18, 2026, a massive fire erupted after midnight at a petroleum-products facility in Sulaymaniyah’s Tanjaro area, Iraq, following explosions in tanks holding highly flammable materials. Around 30 people, mostly workers, suffered burns; four firefighters were also injured. Civil Defence teams extinguished the blaze, and officials said fuel supplies in the province were unaffected.
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is misleading.
