Israeli Media Publishes Nine-Year-Old Iranian Protest Footage as Current Unrest

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TEL AVIV – Israeli media outlets have circulated a video on their websites, claiming it captures recent protests in the Iranian capital, Tehran, amid escalating internal tensions within the country.

The clip depicts a crowd of people in one of the city’s streets, with shouting and road closures, as well as security forces attempting to disperse the protesters using tear gas.

The video, cited by Aljazeera on Tuesday (24/2/2026), documents the latest protests on 13 February 2026 and was published by Yedioth Ahronoth and a television channel, reflecting growing public anger towards the Iranian authorities.

Accounts and media outlets sharing the video claim that it was filmed inside Iranian university campuses during the latest wave of protests, without mentioning the date of the recording or its original source, leading to the video being circulated as evidence of new unrest in the Iranian capital.

However, verification processes revealed that the clip was published approximately nine years ago, during protests that took place at one of Iran’s universities at the time.

A copy of the same video was also found uploaded to Facebook in 2017, confirming that the footage is old and unrelated to current events in Iran.

Iranian opposition media report protests against the Iranian regime that have erupted in multiple locations across the country.

The first video is said to show demonstrations at Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran. The second is reportedly from the city of Abdanan. pic.twitter.com/WYtLX6Jnk9

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) February 21, 2026

This video has surfaced amid increasing tensions between Tehran and Washington in recent weeks, with the exchange of warning messages and strong statements regarding unresolved regional and security issues, ranging from Iran’s nuclear programme to the deployment of US military forces in the region.

This is accompanied by increased talk of military action, potential sanctions, and defensive preparations, creating a heated media environment in which it is easy to use old visual content to support current political narratives or reinforce narratives about Iran’s internal vulnerabilities.