Fact Check: Viral video claiming Iran attacked Palm Jumeirah in Dubai is from 2024

Israel and the United States have launched a coordinated military offensive against Iran, resulting in significant casualties in Iranian territory and triggering a broad retaliatory response from Tehran across the Middle East. Explosions were heard in Tehran and other Iranian cities after joint U.S.–Israeli strikes struck multiple military and strategic sites early on February 28, 2026. Iranian state media reported that at least 85 people, including children, were killed when an airstrike hit a girls’ school in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, with many more wounded in other parts of the country. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched missiles and drones toward Israel and across several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. military facilities, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan. Air defence systems in the Gulf intercepted many incoming projectiles, but authorities reported at least one civilian death in Abu Dhabi and additional casualties from debris.

Meanwhile, several videos are circulating on social media claiming to show footage from the recent attacks. One such video, which is being widely shared online, purports to show visuals of an attack on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. The caption accompanying the post reads: “Iran attacked Palm Jumeirah, the city of Dubai. Condition of United Arab Emirates right now. World War 3 has started. Indians should leave Dubai ASAP.” In the video, multiple projectiles can be seen crossing over a residential area. Here's the screenshot of the claim

Viral claim is archived here.

Fact Check:

The viral video claiming to show footage of an Iranian attack on Palm Jumeirah, Dubai’s iconic man-made island, is actually from 2024. Although smoke and explosions were reported on the island during the recent tensions, the circulating video is misleading and does not show the current incident.

To verify the authenticity of the viral video, we conducted a reverse image search on Google using key frames from the clip. The search led us to a similar video on YouTube that was uploaded on October 3, 2024. The title of the video reads, “Tel Aviv video shows moment of Iranian missile attack,” indicating that it is from a previous attack and not related to the current incident. We also found an X post dated October 10, 2024, by @IRIran_Military, described as a “commentary account” providing updates on the Iranian Armed Forces. The post featured the same video of an air attack, confirming that the footage is old and unrelated to the recent conflict between Israel and Iran.

On the night of October 1, 2024, Iran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said that the majority of the missiles were intercepted by its air defence systems, although a small number hit locations in central and southern parts of the country. The strike marked Iran’s second major direct attack on Israel in 2024, following an earlier assault in April that involved roughly 300 missiles and drones.

However, we were unable to independently verify other details related to the video.

On keyword search we found that a fire broke out at a building on Palm Jumeirah, Dubai’s iconic man-made island. Dubai authorities confirmed the incident and said emergency teams secured the site, with the resulting fire now under control and four people injured and taken to medical facilities, according to Gulf News and official statements. Witnesses reported an explosion and plumes of black smoke rising over the Palm area, with videos circulating on social media showing flames near a hotel.

A video published by The Wall Street Journal showed massive flames engulfing part of a hotel in the Palm Jumeirah area, adding to the widely shared footage that captured the blaze during the unrest, although the precise cause of the fire remains under investigation.

UAE defence sources say the country’s air-defence systems intercepted multiple incoming missiles and drones over Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and falling debris from these interceptions appears to have caused the blaze and injuries at Palm Jumeirah rather than a confirmed direct hit by an Iranian missile.

Hence, the viral video does not show Iran’s attack in Dubai; the footage is from 2024 and unrelated to the recent incident.