No, this photo does not show Iranian trucks moving weapons into Syria in 2024

By: Ishita Goel
April 12 2024

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Screenshot of a social media post claiming to show Iranian trucks with weapons crossing the border from Iraq into Syria. (Source: Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What is the claim?

An image of a convoy of trucks has gone viral on social media, with claims that these are Iranian trucks crossing the border from Iraq into Syria, purportedly carrying various types of weapons.

These posts are circulating amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. Following an attack on April 1, 2024, on Iran’s embassy in Syria that resulted in the deaths of seven military advisers, including a senior commander from the al-Quds force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), both Iran and Syria have accused Israel of orchestrating the attack. They have pledged to retaliate, although Israel has not claimed responsibility. Despite warnings from Israel and other nations, the Israeli military has declared readiness for any potential strike, maintaining a state of high alert.

The social media posts, shared in April, suggest that the image is proof of Iran's planned retaliation against Israel. (Archived here, here and here)

Screenshots of the viral posts on social media. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the image actually dates back to 2019 and depicts Iranian military vehicles participating in the National Army Day celebrations in Tehran, unrelated to the current tensions.

What does the image show?

A reverse image search traced the image to EPA Images, which published it on April 18, 2019, with a caption indicating it was from the National Army Day celebrations in Tehran. The photo, credited to photographer Abedin Taherkenareh, shows Iranian army trucks carrying missiles as part of the festivities.

The description shared with the image read, “Iranian army trucks carrying missiles take part in celebrations marking Army Day in the capital Tehran, called on countries across the Middle East to unite against the United States —  amid rising tensions between the two countries following the U.S. classification of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization (sic)."

Shutterstock also published the same image on the same date, captioned as part of the National Army Day celebrations in Tehran, Iran.

The photo can be found on photo-hosting websites dating back to April 2019. (Source: Screenshots/EPA Images/Shutterstock)

Further investigation uncovered a similar image on AFP's website, showing military vehicles during a ceremony marking Iran's annual Army Day in Tehran on April 18, 2019.

The photo can be found on photo-hosting websites dating back to April 2019. (Source: Screenshots/AFP)

Additionally, a photo from April 2023, published on Getty Images, depicted similar trucks carrying missiles at the exact location near the Imam Khomeini shrine in Tehran during the celebrations.

Therefore, contrary to social media claims, the viral photograph was not taken at the Iraq-Syria border but in Tehran during the Army Day celebrations.

Times of Israel also reported on April 18, 2019, that the country marked its annual Army Day with a military parade. During this, the military displayed Iranian battlefield personnel carriers, machine guns, tanks, transport vehicles, Iranian-made Talash, and Russian-made S-300 missile systems. They also showcased an all-Iranian fighter jet dubbed Kowsar. 

Multiple photos over the years, including those from AFP, have documented similar displays of trucks carrying missiles at Iran's Army Day celebrations, indicating that such demonstrations are a customary part of the event.

The verdict

The photo of tanks carrying weapons is from Tehran during the country's Army Day celebrations and is not related to the recent airstrike on Iran's embassy in Syria.