The Islamic Republic of Iran has just added satellite images to its latest portfolio of fake news.
In a message to the United States, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) released the first images of the NOOR-1 satellite launched into space last April.
Tehran claimed the photos were pictures of an American base in Qatar. As with most good lies, they had a grain of truth.
Two of the images were faked: one was from the US Maxar satellite company and another was from Google Earth. Both were from 2018, according to Israeli UAV and space expert Tal Inbar.
So they were satellite images of the US airbase in Qatar, just not an Iranian satellite’s images, as the regime claimed, nor were they recent images either.
In the stolen Maxar image, the recently built hanger bases are missing. In the appropriated Google Earth images, the aircraft are in the exact same place they were two years ago.
Take a look.
So, Iranian satellite took a picture of a US airbase in Qatar? not exactly….. (1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/3X3lUVtgIN
— Tal Inbar (@inbarspace)
So, Iranian satellite took a picture of a US airbase in Qatar? not exactly….. (2 of 2) pic.twitter.com/s4kYQAnZvo
— Tal Inbar (@inbarspace)
Al-Adeed US base in Qatar – Per Iranian officials – as seen by Iran's NOOR-1 satellite launched in April 2020. pic.twitter.com/BFJCocTEh1
— Tal Inbar (@inbarspace)