Overview
- A post that falsely quoted IRGC commander Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi first appeared on X and was traced to an anonymous India-based account, according to multiple reports.
- The fabricated quotation spread quickly through translations and reposts and was broadcast by an Israeli channel before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited it in a Mount Herzl speech.
- U.S. figures and outlets amplified the claim too, with Mike Waltz and Senator Rick Scott sharing it and Fox News airing the line before some amplifiers deleted or later corrected their posts.
- Iran’s foreign ministry officially denied the quote and fact-checkers found no evidence Vahidi made the statement or that Iran has a nuclear weapon.
- Experts call the episode an example of 'narrative laundering' because repeated sharing, translation, and TV coverage gave a single anonymous post the appearance of multiple independent sources and risked shaping policy debate and public pressure.