Fake by Russian propaganda: Iran allegedly attacks NATO bases with Western weapons “sold” by Ukraine on black market

Russian propagandists fabricated a video attributed to Al Jazeera about events in the Middle East

Russian propaganda accounts on Telegram and Instagram are spreading a video allegedly from Al Jazeera. The clip focuses on Iranian attacks on U.S. and French military bases in the Middle East. It claims that these strikes are carried out using American and French weapons supposedly delivered to Ukraine after 2022, which Ukraine is allegedly “selling” on the black market. The authors of the video refer to a supposed “statement” by former German general Klaus Wittmann.

This is fake. The video does not exist either on Al Jazeera’s website or on its official social media pages. Russian propagandists compiled the clip from various photos and videos available online.

In particular, one of the frames was filmed during an Iranian attack on Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. Therefore, it is unrelated to U.S. or French military bases or to Ukraine.

The original image showing ammunition, which Russian propagandists used to suggest it was Western weaponry supplied to Ukraine, was actually taken in Kyiv in 2024. The photo is part of a report by Associated Press on the increase in weapons production in Ukraine.

Former General Klaus Wittmann also did not make the statements attributed to him by Russian sources. Neither he nor any reputable media outlet has published remarks about Ukraine “selling partner-supplied weapons on the black market.”

Moreover, there is no evidence that Iran has used Western weapons in attacks on U.S. or French military bases. According to Reuters, a drone was used in the strike on a French base in Erbil, Iraq. Iran is known to possess domestically developed drones, including Shahed-type UAVs, which Russia uses in its war against Ukraine.

It should be noted that since 2022, Russian propaganda has been promoting the false narrative that “Ukraine sells weapons provided by Western partners.” The purpose of such disinformation is to discredit Ukraine’s leadership and undermine the trust of international partners.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Russian propagandists also circulated a fake magazine cover allegedly from the U.S. publication The Nation, featuring a caricature of Volodymyr Zelensky in the context of the Middle East conflict.

By Andrii Olenin