Indian Social Media Accounts, AI Images, And IRGC Hashtags: How Did Fake Quote On Nuclear Reach Netanyahu's Speech?

New Delhi: These days, war is no longer confined to the battlefield; social media and memes are increasingly shaping the narrative and influencing modern warfare. Amid this, a sensational, unverified quote originating from an anonymous social media account in India rapidly crossed global borders, eventually influencing public statements by top Israeli and US officials regarding Iran's nuclear intentions, Middle East Eye reported.

Fabrication and rapid spread

On the morning of August 5, an anonymous X account reportedly based in India, having roughly 1,75,000 followers, posted a fake statement attributed to Brig. General Ahmad Vahidi, a senior commander in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The post claimed Vahidi had declared Iran would never abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons while the United States and Israel retained theirs. To amplify its visual impact, the post was paired with a photo of the general and an AI-generated image of a mushroom cloud. Within two hours, another Indian X account translated the claim into Hindi.

BREAKING 🚨:
दुनिया में बढ़ते तनाव के बीच iran की बड़ी चेतावनी!

IRGC Chief Ahmad Vahidi का बड़ा बयान—

"जब तक US और Israel के पास nuclear weapons हैं, तब तक Enriched Uranium या nuclear weapons पर कोई बातचीत नहीं होगी।"

उन्होंने साफ किया कि iran अपनी National Security के लिए इस… pic.twitter.com/y4M7aKTZ3e

— Ritika (@Im_Ritikaa) August 5, 2026

Shortly after, the quote was picked up by Mossad Commentary, an Israeli account unaffiliated with the intelligence agency, framing it as proof that Iran was negotiating in bad faith. Within half an hour, Israel’s Channel 14 broadcast the fabricated quote in English, and Yair Netanyahu, son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, widely shared it online.

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Adoption by High-Level Leaders

Less than three hours after the false post began circulating in Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited the unverified statement during a national address at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, presenting it as evidence of Tehran's ultimate nuclear ambitions.

The disinformation quickly reached Washington. Mike Waltz, the US Ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration, reposted the claim on social media, asserting that Iran was "finally admitting what's been obvious for years." US Senator Rick Scott of Florida and major news outlets like Fox News also reshared or reported on the unverified quotation.

Official Denial and Retractions

Following widespread scrutiny regarding the authenticity of the quote, Ambassador Waltz quietly deleted his social media post without issuing an official statement.

Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, strongly rejected the claim, labelling it part of a "flood of lies against the Islamic Republic." Baghaei maintained that Iran’s nuclear program remains purely for peaceful civilian purposes, accusing political adversaries of leveraging false allegations to justify hostile actions against Iran.

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The incident underscores how easily fabricated online content, driven by AI imagery and social media algorithms, can bypass verification protocols and influence geopolitics at the highest diplomatic levels.

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