False Iran nuclear quote originated on an India-based X account on August 5.
The post falsely attributed a nuclear weapons statement to Ahmad Vahidi.
No official speech, video or credible Iranian source supported the alleged quote
A false claim about Iran’s nuclear programme that originated on an India-based X account was amplified by Israeli media, shared by US political figures and eventually cited by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The episode began on August 5, when an anonymous X account claimed that Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, had said Tehran would continue pursuing nuclear weapons as long as the United States and Israel possessed them.
The post attributed this statement to Vahidi: “As long as the United States and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security,” New York Times reported.
No speech, video, official statement or credible Iranian report was found to show that Vahidi had made the remark.
From An Indian X Account To Israeli Media
The first post came from an India-based account with around 175,000 followers and included Vahidi’s photograph alongside an AI-generated image of a mushroom cloud.
Within about two hours, another India-based account with roughly 82,000 followers shared the claim, including in Hindi.
The allegation was then picked up by an Israeli account called Mossad Commentary, which has no confirmed connection with Israel’s intelligence agency.
Soon afterwards, Israel’s Channel 14 aired the quote in English and presented it as Iran’s first public acknowledgement that it was pursuing a nuclear bomb.
Yair Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister’s son, also shared the claim.
Within less than three hours, the purported statement had reached Netanyahu himself, who referred to it during remarks at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem as evidence of Iran’s nuclear intentions.
US Politicians And Fox News Amplify Claim
The assertion also crossed into US political circles. Mike Waltz, the Trump administration’s ambassador to the United Nations, reposted the statement and wrote that Iran was “finally admitting what's been obvious for years”.
His post was later deleted without an explanation. Republican Senator Rick Scott also circulated the claim.
Fox News discussed the statement on air. Anchor Bill Hemmer said: “That's as close to an admission as I've heard, and we've been watching this story for years.”
An on-screen graphic during the coverage read: “IRGC Vows to Keep Nukes”.
Iran Rejects Allegation
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei rejected the claim, calling it “an example of the flood of lies against the Islamic Republic”.
He alleged that similar claims about Iran’s nuclear programme had been used for years to justify military action against Tehran.
Baghaei also accused Israel of being behind such narratives, though he did not provide evidence that Israel created the original social-media post.
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is meant for civilian purposes. Israel and the United States have, however, repeatedly accused Tehran of seeking the ability to develop nuclear weapons.
How An Unverified Claim Gained Credibility
The incident shows how a social-media claim can gain apparent authority as it moves through increasingly prominent platforms.
The original post did not cite a primary source. But once it was repeated by larger accounts, a television channel and political figures, the lack of evidence behind the statement became less visible.
The New York Times’ reconstruction of the episode showed that the information moved from an anonymous social-media account into mainstream political discourse before its authenticity had been established.
