The 31-second video shared in July 2026 as evidence of an Iranian strike on Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain is misattributed. AFP traced the footage to a December 2025 fire at the Pravoberezhny Market in St. Petersburg, Russia, confirmed by social posts, Russian media reports and TASS photos. Geo-checks with Google Street View match the building and billboard seen in the clip.
Old Russian Market Fire Misrepresented As Attack On US Base In Bahrain
Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on July 27, 2026, with a red X added by AFP
After Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they struck US military targets in Bahrain in July 2026, a 31-second video began circulating online claiming to show Sheikh Isa Air Base in flames. AFP verification shows the footage is months older and captures a December 2025 market fire in St. Petersburg, Russia — not damage in Bahrain.
Screenshot comparison between the false Facebook post (L) and the X post on December 11, 2025
What Was Shared
On July 16, 2026, a Thai-language Facebook post proclaimed, "Bahrain on fire! Sheikh Isa Air Base and the US 5th Fleet hit by heaviest Iranian missile strikes in history," and attached a 31-second night-time video of a building engulfed in flames while firefighters and rescue teams worked at the scene. The same clip also circulated in other Thai- and Arabic-language social posts, implying the footage showed the aftermath of Iranian strikes on US facilities in Bahrain.
Screenshot of the TASS website showing pictures of the fire
How It Was Verified
AFP conducted a reverse-image search of keyframes from the video and traced the clip to an X (formerly Twitter) post published on December 11, 2025, that described a major fire at one of St. Petersburg's largest markets. Al Jazeera English published a video of the same scene on December 11, 2025, reporting at least one death and multiple injuries.
Screenshot comparison between the falsely shared video (left and centre) and the Google Maps imagery showing the Pravoberezhny market in St. Petersburg, with the same elements highlighted by AFP
Russian outlet Moscow 24 reported the blaze broke out at the Pravoberezhny Market in St. Petersburg's Nevsky district and quickly spread across roughly 1,500 square metres, citing Russian officials. TASS published photos of the December 2025 fire, and Google Street View imagery shows the same building features and a billboard visible in the viral clip — confirming the location as the Pravoberezhny Market.
Context And Impact
The misleading posts appeared amid renewed tensions in the Middle East after reports that the US military had struck a number of Iranian targets and Iran announced strikes on US-linked facilities. That context likely increased the clip's virality and the readiness of some users to accept and share footage that seemed to confirm dramatic claims about damage in Bahrain.
Takeaway
Verification steps — reverse-image searches, cross-checking social posts, consulting local media and matching landmarks with Google Street View — demonstrate the clip depicts a 2025 fire in St. Petersburg, not an attack on Sheikh Isa Air Base.
AFP has previously debunked other pieces of misinformation related to the Middle East conflict in July 2026 and continues to monitor and verify viral multimedia claims.
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