Fact Check: US destroys Iranian underground missile unit? No, 2015 video from Yemen goes viral

Hyderabad: A video circulating on social media claims to show an explosion at an underground Iranian missile storage facility, allegedly destroyed by US and Israeli attacks.

The viral video features two clips placed side by side. One appears to show an underground arms facility, while the other shows a massive explosion near a mountain.

on X and wrote, "BREAKING: Big success for the U.S. & Israeli Forces. An Iranian underground missile storage facility was successfully targeted & destroyed using bunker buster bombs near the Strait of Hormuz. Over 200 Khorramshahr ballistic missiles were stored there and now became dust. (sic)" (Archive)

received over 872 thousand views and more than 15 thousand likes on the platform. (Archive)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. A video of an explosion in the capital city of Sanaa, Yemen, in 2015 was falsely shared as an attack on Iran.

Analysis of the video that shows an explosion

We conducted a reverse image search on the keyframes of the viral clip and found the

was published on X on May 11, 2015. The caption suggested that it shows an explosion in Sanaa, Yemen.

On further research, we found a news article published by the Yemen-based news organisation Yafa News on May 11, 2015.

The report included several screenshots of an explosion, one of which matched the viral video. The report was about massive explosions that shook the Jabal Naqam area, sending shrapnel into the alleys and streets near the mountain.

We also found an Al-Jazeera report that mentioned more details about the incident in Yemen.

The report, dated May 12, 2015, stated that at least 69 people were killed and 250 others injured when Arab coalition fighter jets struck an arms depot near the Yemeni capital Sanaa. Residents said explosions at the military base on Mount Noqum, located on the city's outskirts, continued into the next day after the initial strike late on May 11, 2015.

This confirmed that the video of an explosion is not related to Iran.

What about the video showing an underground facility?

On reverse image search, we found that it shows an Iranian underground missile storage unit known as a 'missile city'.

The video was published by FirstPost on YouTube on March 26, 2025, and the description read that Iran's military released footage showing what it described as an underground missile city stocked with weapons and missiles.

Times of Israel on March 26, 2025, reported that the video aired by Iranian state media showed a long tunnel filled with assorted ballistic and cruise missiles, including systems like the Kheibar Shekan, Sejjil and Emad and was presented as a demonstration of Iran's deterrent capabilities.

The viral posts claimed that this missile storage facility was destroyed by US and Israeli attacks, falsely using the explosion video as evidence.

However, there are no reports of Israeli or US forces destroying a missile storage facility in Iran.

Therefore, we conclude that the claim is false.