It took just a few minutes to tell the world about everything that was wrong with war journalism while underlining the weary cliché of truth being the first casualty in wars. It also brought in the hard realisation of the fact that rumours could spark off a nuclear war.
In what would have been a serious escalation of the ongoing Israel-Iran clash, a news story from a US news outlet quoting “official sources” went around the world in mere minutes on Friday morning. The news was that Israeli missiles and drones had hit the Iranian heartland in the city of Isfahan on Thursday night. Three explosions were also heard at the Shekari military base near Isfahan.
The breakneck speed at which the global media picked it up amid ‘visuals’ being splashed across social media platforms was astounding, and it was a while before a Iranian government message came in that there was no Israeli attack and that the reported explosions were caused by activation of air defence units.
Besides being a military stronghold, Isfahan is a known centre where uranium is converted for nuclear purposes.
Expectedly, even the Iranian local media, quoting sources reported that the nuclear facilities in Isfahan were “completely secure” even as they claimed to have shot down several drones.
As recently as February 14, Isfahan was being readied by Tehran to produce uranium.
During its last round of inspection, intergovernmental nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had verified that “no nuclear material had been introduced into the production area of the UCF (Uranium Conversion Facility) at Isfahan.”
Citing concerns that Israel may target Iran’s nuke facilities, the IAEA had already evacuated its inspectors from the nuclear facilities on April 16.
Friday morning’s rumours follow a chain of events that began on April 1 when an airstrike by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on an Iranian consular building in Damascus killed senior leaders of Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC), including top official Major General Mohammad Reza Zahedi.
Iran hit back at Israel on April 13 with a barrage of 120 ballistic missiles, 30 cruise missiles, and about 170 drones but most of which were intercepted.
What added grist to the rumour mills on Friday morning was recent ‘brinkmanship’ rhetoric used by the warring sides.
On Thursday morning, Brigadier General Ahmad Haghtalab, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Nuclear Security and Protection Corps, had threatened to change his country’s “nuclear doctrine and policies” if Israel attacked Iran and its nuclear facilities. What is more, General Haghtalab’s statement was widely endorsed by leading members of the Iranian establishment.
On Monday, Abolfazl Amoui, spokesperson, Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, had said: “We will confront any Israeli aggression and respond to it. We are ready to use weapons that we have not used before.”
Israel’s war cabinet has met several times amid vehement vows of a response to Iran’s April 13 attack.
As if on cue, on Friday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had prophetic words: “The Middle East is on a precipice...Recent days have seen a perilous escalation – in words and deeds...One miscalculation, one miscommunication, one mistake, could lead to the unthinkable – a full-scale regional conflict that would be devastating for all involved – and for the rest of the world.”
