How a False Nuclear Claim About Iran Ricocheted From India to Washington
New York Times · LC · trust 51/100
A dubious post that spread on X became the basis of false claims that Iran’s leadership had declared it a nuclear power.
Listen · 8:09 min Share full article Funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, in Tehran in July. Credit... Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times By Steven Lee Myers Ronen Bergman and Farnaz Fassihi
Steven Lee Myers reported from San Francisco, Ronen Bergman from Tel Aviv and Farnaz Fassihi from New York.
It was not true, and there’s no evidence that the commander made the remark or that Iran has developed nuclear weapons. The claim soon caromed around the internet anyway.
The quotation appeared on Israeli accounts, and then a television channel there posted it, calling it the first public declaration that Iran was working to build a nuclear bomb. That evening, it made its way into remarks that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, the country’s national cemetery.
In the United States, Mike Waltz, the Trump administration’s ambassador to the United Nations, reposted the quotation, as did Senator Rick Scott of Florida, a Republican. Fox News also reported the claim, as anchors and guests cited it as evidence of Iran’s duplicity.
The quotation, attributed to Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, was part of a campaign that succeeded in misleading politicians and news organizations around the world, according to a review by The New York Times. The claim’s spread showed how easily viral disinformation can twist the public debate over matters as serious as war and peace.
It is unclear who fabricated the quotation. However, it appeared intended to bolster Mr. Netanyahu’s longstanding claim that Iran is determined to build a nuclear weapon and that war against Iran was necessary.
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