A post shared on Instagram claims the Israel War Room X account posted a helicopter emoji minutes before the helicopter crash that killed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

Instagram/Screenshot

Verdict: Misleading

The post was actually uploaded minutes after news outlets broke the news on social media.

Fact Check: 

Raisi was killed in a helicopter crash in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province on Monday, which is being attributed to issues with the helicopter, according to Axios. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and seven others aboard the helicopter also died in the crash while returning from the opening of a dam, the outlet reported.

An Instagram post appears to show a screenshot of an X post uploaded by Israel War Room’s verified account on May 19, 2024 with a timestamp of 8:58 a.m. The post consists of a single helicopter emoji.

“Israel War Room posted this ‘ambiguous’ emoji minutes before the news of the Iranian president’s helicopter crash landing broke across a majority of news networks around the globe,” the post reads. In larger text at the bottom is the word “Coincidence?”

The post, which is genuine, was published at 8:58 a.m. EST, after news broke of the incident. At 8:53 a.m EST, the Associated Press posted, “BREAKING: Rescuers in Iran are trying to reach a helicopter involved in ‘an incident’ while traveling with an entourage including President Ebrahim Raisi, state television reported.” Iranian newspaper Tehran Times posted about the crash at 8:44 a.m. EST. An additional Iranian news outlet, Tasnim News Agency, posted about the crash at 8:53 a.m. 

#BREAKING
Helicopter carrying President Raisi in East Azerbaijan crashes

Some reports indicate that the helicopter carrying President Raisi has crashed in East Azerbaijan. pic.twitter.com/55dzzAsu6j

— Tehran Times (@TehranTimes79) May 19, 2024

🚁

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) May 19, 2024

The claim was also debunked by PolitiFact. (RELATED: Viral X Photo Of Iranian President Predates Helicopter Crash)

Check Your Fact reached out to an Israel War Room spokesperson for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.