Lucy Gilder
BBC Verify journalist

Several posts claiming to show two UK MPs participating in a one-minute silence to mark the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have drawn millions of views on X.

But these claims are false. They use photos of the MPs taken before Khamenei was killed at the weekend and there’s no evidence either politician did this.

One post from yesterday, external shows a picture of UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood wearing a headscarf while talking to a group of Muslim men. The text says she “joined her constituents to hold a one-minute silence for Ayatollah Khamenei today in Birmingham”.

A simple reverse search of this image using Google shows it was taken in September 2024 when Mahmood visited Southport Mosque following riots that summer. She posted about the visit on her own website, external.

Another X post, external shows newly elected Green Party MP Hannah Spencer standing with a group of men in front of an Islamic centre. The post says Spencer “joined locals in Gorton and Denton for a minute's silence honouring the fallen ayatollah”.

The image used was originally posted by Spencer six days ago on her Instagram account, external when she joined local Muslims for Iftar - the meal taken after breaking the Ramadan fast.

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

An image claiming to show damage to a US naval base in Qatar as seen from space is an AI fake, based on an old satellite image from a different place.

The image, posted on X by Iran’s state-aligned Tehran Times and shared widely online over the weekend, claims it shows destroyed US radar equipment in Qatar.

The fake picture of damage appears to be based on real satellite imagery of a US base in Bahrain from February 2025, which is publicly available on Google Maps and Google Earth.

The before and after image was generated or edited with Google AI, according to Google’s SynthID watermark detector.

We can also see discrepancies in the roof of the building at the bottom of the so-called “after” picture compared with the original satellite image. We can also see three vehicles parked in the exact same spaces in both the genuine satellite imagery and the AI picture - despite the pictures allegedly having been taken a year apart.

We have verified multiple videos showing strikes on the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain on Saturday.

A senior Bahraini official told BBC News the base was struck on Saturday evening by an Iranian drone that caused a major fire.

The drone impacted right next to the UK naval facility that adjoins the US area but there were no casualties as the area had been evacuated, the official added.

Emma Pengelly and Daniele Palumbo
BBC Verify

We’ve verified footage showing the aftermath of a reported Iranian drone attack on a French naval base in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday.

One video begins with smoke billowing from the area of Zayed Port, followed by a large explosion nearby and debris being thrown into the air. A photograph shows thick black smoke rising from the same location.

Image source, X

We’ve checked and confirmed the images were first posted online on Sunday.

French Defence Minister Catherine Vautrin said a hangar at the French naval base had been hit in a drone attack at the port of Abu Dhabi. No injuries were reported, she said.

Earlier on Sunday the UAE’s Ministry of Defence said two Iranian drones targeted a warehouse at al-Salam naval base in Abu Dhabi causing two fires.

Emma Pengelly
BBC Verify journalist

Verified video shows a fire burning at an oil refinery in eastern Saudi Arabia after a drone attack this morning.The clip is filmed from a moving vehicle and shows a thick smoke cloud billowing across the site.

We’ve confirmed the footage was filmed at the Ras Tanura refinery by matching pipes and structures on the site to recent satellite images. The site is operated by Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco.

Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said it intercepted and destroyed two drones at the facility, adding that a “limited fire” was caused by falling debris. It also said there have been no civilian casualties.

The country’s energy ministry has said “operational units at the refinery were shut down as a precautionary measure”, but there had been no impact on the “supply of petroleum products to local markets”.

Image source, X

Thomas Copeland
BBC Verify Live journalist

An image claiming to show a huge explosion at a US military base in Iraq has been manipulated using AI. The AI fake appears to be based on a real picture we’ve verified, first shared online on Sunday, showing a cloud of smoke rising over the international airport in Irbil.

Drones have been targeting a US base near the airport in the capital of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region since Saturday.

I’ve checked the image using Google’s SynthID watermark detector, which found it was generated or edited with Google AI.

There are also visual inconsistencies in the fake image, including the unrealistic fireball and unusually shaped structures on the right-hand side which do not appear in recent photographs taken at this location.

Rob Corp
BBC Verify Live editor

BBC Verify has been tracking, verifying and mapping attacks in Iran and across the Middle East since the first air strikes by the US and Israel were reported on Saturday. We’ll bring you more of what we’ve verified today here on BBC Verify Live.

As well as providing BBC News with real, verified, material from the conflict we’re also looking into widespread sharing of disinformation on social media.

We’re seeing what appear to be AI-generated images claiming to show real attacks and damage as well as old material from previous wars being passed off as new.

We’ll take you through some examples of what’s being shared and explain why sometimes what you see online isn’t always what it claims to be.

BBC Verify is also assessing the ongoing risks to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz through which around 20% of the world's oil passes. Three vessels were attacked near the strait yesterday and ships have been warned not to attempt to transit the key route.

More on all those to come throughout the day.