FACT CHECK: Image Claims To Show Iranian President’s Funeral
An image shared on X claims to show Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi’s funeral.
West says Raisi was unpopular in Iran.
I saw millions of people at his funeral. pic.twitter.com/kY6E3bfFvB
— 🇮🇷 🇵🇸 zainab…72 (@zehrazainab72) May 22, 2024
Verdict: False
The image shows Iranian general Qassem Soleimani’s coffin in January 2020.
Fact Check:
The Iranian president and foreign minister died in a helicopter crash, according to The Associated Press. Elections for his replacement are due to take place next month, the outlet reported.
This claim is false. Through a reverse image search, Check Your Fact found that the image was from January 2020 and shows a different Iranian official. It shows Soleimani after he was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.
“Coffins of Gen. Qassem Soleimani and others who were killed in Iraq by a U.S. drone strike, are carried on a truck surrounded by mourners during a funeral procession, in the city of Mashhad, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020. Soleimani’s death Friday in Iraq further heightens tensions between Tehran and Washington after months of trading attacks and threats that put the wider Middle East on edge. (Mohammad Hossein Thaghi/Tasnim News Agency via AP),” reads the image description on Alamy.
The image was published on news outlets such as Voice of America. Soleimani was killed in a targeted drone strike.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shared footage of Raisi’s funeral on X. (RELATED: Video Claims To Show US Destroyer Hit By Houthi Missile)
Minutes ago Imam Khamenei led the funeral prayer over the bodies of President Ebrahim Raisi and his esteemed companions pic.twitter.com/eSFemTDsne
— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) May 22, 2024
“Minutes ago Imam Khamenei led the funeral prayer over the bodies of President Ebrahim Raisi and his esteemed companions,” his account tweeted.
