Footage of Iranian president riding in plane not captured hours before crash | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall and Isabel C. Morales, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Video shows Iranian president one hour before he died in helicopter crash

[En Español: Vídeo de presidente iraní en avión no es de horas antes de estrellarse]

A May 19 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi looking out the window of a plane.

"Images are leaked prior to the accident of the Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi," reads part of the post's caption in Spanish. "Video of the flight of President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter an hour before his difficult landing in a mountainous area near the Songon copper mine, in the northwest of the country."

A similar version of the claim was shared on X, formerly Twitter, where it was reposted more than 200 in two days. Other versions of the claim were shared on Facebook and X.

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Our rating: False

The video was shared on social media by an Iranian news outlet in January, four months before the president died in a helicopter accident.

Video predates helicopter crash by months

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and seven other officials were killed in a helicopter crash in a mountainous region near the Azerbaijan border on May 19. The bodies of all eight passengers were discovered the following day.

The Facebook video doesn't show the moments leading up to the crash, however.

The footage was previously shared on X by the Islamic Republic News Agency on Jan. 18, and the IRNA logo can be seen in the bottom-left corner of the video.

"This morning, the President's aerial visit to the Nemroud Dam in Firouzkoh city," reads a Google translation of the post's Persian caption.

Fact check: Image shows wrecked police plane in 2020, not crash that killed Iran's president

The president's visit to the dam was reported by the Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters and the Iranian Mehr News Agency the same day. Raisi was inspecting the status of the dam with the minister of energy, the governor of Tehran and the head of the construction camp, according to the articles.

The Associated Press published footage aired by Iranian state TV of the president flying near the Azerbaijan border the day of the crash, and the land below is visibly green, not covered in snow.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Newtral and Fact Crescendo also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video of Iranian president predates helicopter crash | Fact check