Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated an alleged quote attributed to a senior Iranian commander about Tehran’s willpower to develop nuclear weapons, although the assertion had no recognized main supply and was later traced to an Indian pro-Israel account on X.
An investigation by Israeli information outlet Ynet and New York Occasions journalist Ronen Bergman discovered that Netanyahu used the alleged quote, attributed to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Ahmad Vahidi, in an official handle to warn Israelis about Iran’s nuclear plans.
Ynet’s investigation traced the supply of Netanyahu’s remarks to Ritika, an Indian Hindu-nationalist and pro-Israel X account, which posted the alleged quote on 5 August.
“There will probably be no dialogue over enriched uranium or nuclear weapons. So long as the US and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we are going to proceed engaged on them for our nationwide safety. In the event that they disarm, we are going to disarm,” the submit attributed to Vahidi stated.
In response to Ynet, the quote started circulating quickly after it was posted.
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About 4 and a half hours later, Mossad Commentary, which presents itself as an unofficial account of Israel’s intelligence company on X however has no connection to the Mossad international intelligence company, repeated the declare to its greater than 1 million followers.
“THERE WILL BE NO FINAL DEAL. The earlier we perceive that, the higher,” the account stated, earlier than citing the alleged remarks by Vahidi.
The account added: “The regime is just not making ready to desert its nuclear ambitions. It’s shopping for time. There will probably be no deal.”
Israel’s Channel 14 repeated the alleged Vahidi quote, describing it as the primary direct admission by an Iranian official that Tehran was creating a nuclear bomb. It didn’t present a main supply for the citation.
Channel 14 Information is extensively regarded in Israel as a mouthpiece for Netanyahu and his far-right authorities.
A current report discovered that the Israeli authorities had purchased tens of millions of shekels value of economic airtime from the channel in recent times.
Ynet reported that Yair Netanyahu, the prime minister’s eldest son, subsequently reposted content material from the 2 Israeli accounts to his near-300,000 followers on X.
Yair Netanyahu is likely one of the most influential figures within the Prime Minister’s interior circle, with quite a few reviews indicating that he and his mom, Sara Netanyahu, are closely concerned within the prime minister’s decision-making.
Netanyahu’s eldest son is understood for selling far-right politics and false data by means of his social media accounts, with lots of Netanyahu’s Likud social gathering members searching for his approval.
A document of false claims
About two hours later, Netanyahu himself referred to the alleged assertion throughout an official ceremony in Jerusalem.
“At this time, we heard the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Vahidi, explicitly declare Iran’s intention to proceed creating nuclear weapons – ‘proceed’, as he put it,” Netanyahu stated, based on Ynet’s investigation.
The alleged quote subsequently unfold to the US.
In response to Ynet, Mike Waltz, the US ambassador to the United Nations, reposted the Channel 14 report earlier than later deleting it. US conservative commentator Mark Levin additionally reposted it.
Fox Information later reported that Vahidi had stated Iran would proceed engaged on nuclear weapons so long as the US and Israel possessed them. The outlet subsequently clarified its report, saying the remarks “had been beforehand taken out of context and amplified as feedback made this week”.
The alleged quote continued to flow into in Israeli media, with journalists near Netanyahu, together with Yaakov Bardugo and Avishay Ben Haim, repeating the prime minister’s warning on Israeli tv, Ynet reported.
The Israeli international ministry’s Persian-language X account additionally posted Netanyahu’s remarks about Vahidi.
About 13 hours after the unique submit appeared on the Indian X account, Fox Information reported on the alleged assertion, saying it was “intensifying considerations that Iran is utilizing negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz to postpone concessions on its nuclear program”.
Two days later, the outlet clarified that Vahidi’s remarks “had been beforehand taken out of context and amplified as feedback made this week”.
Two hours after Fox’s preliminary report, Asian Information Worldwide, a significant Indian information outlet, repeated the declare, citing Israeli media reviews.
Israel’s disinformation marketing campaign
Vahidi’s alleged quote, Ynet stated, served Netanyahu to bolster his declare that Iran seeks to develop a nuclear weapon amid reviews suggesting that Netanyahu opposes a deal between the US and Iran.
In June, Netanyahu told Channel 14 Information that “so long as I’m prime minister, Iran won’t have nuclear weapons”, including that he saved Israel from “annihilation” twice by claiming Iran possessed atomic bombs.
Whereas Ynet couldn’t decide whether or not Netanyahu or his interior circle directed the circulation of Vahidi’s alleged quote, the investigation pointed “to a sequence of acquainted markers of disinformation distribution”.
It stated that Netanyahu had confronted related accusations up to now.
In September 2024, Netanyahu’s workplace allegedly supplied the UK-based Jewish Chronicle and Germany-based Bild newspaper with false data claiming that Hamas meant to smuggle Israeli captives by means of the Rafah space between the Gaza Strip and Egypt to Iran.
Two Netanyahu aides are additionally underneath investigation over allegations that categorised paperwork had been leaked to affect Israeli public opinion about army operations in Rafah.
Ynet’s investigation stated current reviews steered Israeli influence operations had more and more focused audiences outdoors Israel, together with within the US, amid rising criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza and Iran from each Democratic and Republican figures.
Final month, Iran’s embassy in India additionally accused Indian media of spreading false details about Iran.
“Indian media mustn’t compromise the general public belief and its skilled credibility by disseminating faux and fabricated information,” the embassy said, including that it anticipated retailers to “keep away from collaborating in exterior propaganda efforts”.
