Tehran's alleged effort to develop nuclear weapons has been the key reason cited by US President Trump and Israel govt for the war on Iran. In recent weeks, amid stop-start peace efforts, the hawkish narrative got a significant boost from a fake quote first posted by an Indian X handle, which then raced through Tel Aviv-Washington political and diplomatic circles, right up to PM Benjamin Netanyahu and White House."Alert," the account, @RealBababanaras, posted on Aug 5, "While world is expecting peace, IRGC Chief Ahmad Wahidi again threatened -'There will be no talk on Enriched Urenium (sic) or nuclear weapons, as long as US & Israel are owning nuclear weapons, we will keep working on it for national security. If they dispose, we will dispose." This reference was to Brig Gen Ahmad Vahidi, head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and one of Iran's powerful military figures.In less than two hours, another India-based account, @Im_Ritikaa, posted a paraphrased version in Hindi.
Neither cited any sources. An Israeli news outlet, YNet, and The New York Times have since reported that there is no evidence this statement was ever made by Vahidi. But the posts on Indian X had already found resonance in Israeli media. By the afternoon of Aug 5, Mossad Commentary, a prominent Israeli account (but not affiliated with Israel's intelligence agency, Mossad), published the fake statement with a comment: "The regime is not preparing to abandon its nuclear ambitions. It is buying time. There...
Tehran's alleged effort to develop nuclear weapons has been the key reason cited by US President Trump and Israel govt for the war on Iran. In recent weeks, amid stop-start peace efforts, the hawk...