Viral video of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral is AI-generated

Multiple pro-Iranian accounts, based on their past posts, have been sharing a video on social media platforms X and Instagram since July 2, 2026, claiming to show the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader of Iran. However, the clip is AI-generated.

Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for over 30 years, was assassinated in a US-Israel strike on February 28, triggering a 108-day war that resulted in over 3,600 casualties in Iran and 13 American troop deaths.

Iran called the strikes unprovoked and illegal and responded with missiles fired at Israel and at least seven other countries, including Gulf states that host US bases, while vowing revenge for Khamenei’s assassination.

The state funeral for the late supreme leader will take place across six days from July 4 to July 9, 2026. His body will lie in state in Tehran, be taken through Qom and Iraq, and conclude with his burial at the Imam Reza shrine in his hometown of Mashhad on July 9, 2026.

How it started

On July 2, an X account that appears to be pro-Iranian based on past posts shared the video, with the following caption: “The funeral of Imam Shaheed Khamenei is not merely a burial — it is an uprising for God.”

The post gained 741,000 views.

Another X user shared the same clip with the following caption: “This is the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader that was assassinated during negotiations with the United States and Israel.”

The post gained 219,700 views.

The same video with a similar claim was further shared on X as can be seen here, here, here, here, and here; further amplifying the claim.

The same video, with a similar caption, was also shared on Instagram, garnering 14,000 views.

Methodology

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its high virality and keen public interest in the funeral processions of Khamenei.

When the viral video was analysed frame by frame, the team identified several visual inconsistencies.

From the 0:00 to 0:06-second mark, the crowd appears to move in a wave-like pattern resembling flowing water rather than the natural movement of a large gathering of people.

At the 0:12-second mark, a red flag suddenly appears in the middle of the densely packed crowd without any visible source or transition.

Similarly, at the 0:15-second mark, two additional red flags abruptly appear within the frame, a pattern commonly associated with AI-generated content.

At the end of the viral clip, text displayed over a white background reads: “Join us for the largest funeral procession in history.” This indicates that the video is promoting an upcoming event rather than depicting an actual funeral procession, contradicting the claim that the video allegedly shows Khamenei’s funeral.

The video was further analysed using multiple AI detection tools. UncovAI flagged the video as 99 per cent AI-generated.

Similarly, TruthScan labelled it as having a 71pc probability of being AI-generated.

Another AI detection tool, AI Aware, also flagged the video as 68pc AI-generated.

Moreover, a keyword search was conducted to check whether any credible Iranian or international media outlets had run or reported on the video. However, it did not yield any results matching the viral clip.

Fact-check status: false

The claim that the viral video shows Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral is false.

The video is AI-generated.

This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan — a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.