Iran’s FM Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei Did Not Thank Pakistan or Criticize India — Clip Is Fake

A clip purportedly showing Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, is going viral in which he says, “During the 2025 Zionist aggression on our soil, certain regional partners, despite historical and multilateral bonds, chose careful silence or stepped back from clear condemnation bond by the deepening ties to the aggressor. We remember those choices. Now in the foreign backed unrest, the pattern repeats, trusted partners hesitate or distance themselves, while our brotherly neighbor Pakistan consistently calls for Iran’s stability and condemns external meddling. Iran never forgets solidarity in tough times.”

The clip is being circulated with claims that Iran’s FM spokesperson thanked Pakistan and called out certain regional partners, including India, for remaining silent. Another accompanying claim alleges that Iranian agencies have arrested several Indian nationals as being involved in espionage activities for Mossad.

Sharing the video, the handle Zard si Gana wrote, “Iran’s FM spokesperson thanked Pakistan for standing with Iran during the Zionist attacks, says that some regional partners including India — stayed silent. Iranian Police have arrested several Indian and Afghan nationals for spying and creating chaos for Israel’s Mossad.” (Archived link)

🚨🇮🇷
Iran’s FM spokesperson thanked Pakistan for standing with Iran during the Zionist attacks, says that some regional partners including India — stayed silent.

Iranian Police have arrested several Indian and Afghan nationals for spying and creating chaos for Israel’s Mossad. pic.twitter.com/3P0LDmsDvS

— Zard si Gana (@ZardSi) January 19, 2026

War analyst asserted, “Iran’s FM spokesperson noted Pakistan’s support during Zionist attacks and foreign-backed unrest, while some regional partners, including India, remained silent. The message was clear, Iran remembers who stood by them and who chose not to.” (Archived link)

Iran’s FM spokesperson noted Pakistan’s support during Zionist attacks and foreign-backed unrest, while some regional partners, including India, remained silent.

The message was clear, Iran remembers who stood by them and who chose not to. pic.twitter.com/pGQKTe2XSs

— War Analyst (@War_Analysts) January 19, 2026

The clip was also shared by several other handles like Afghan Times (Archived link), Javed Akhtar (Archived link), and Syed Anas (Archived link).

Also Read: Clip of Pratul Shah Calling For Muslims Removal From Indian Army is Doctored

Fact Check

In our fact-check research, we first conducted keyword search on Google for claims that Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, thanked Pakistan and criticized India. However, we did not find any credible media report supporting this claim.

In the next step, we ran an AI-detection analysis of the viral clip featuring Esmail Baghaei, which indicated that the video was fake and AI-generated.

We then extracted keyframes from the video and conducted a reverse image search, which led us to the recent press briefing video of Baghaei in his native Persian language, posted on IRIB News official telegram channel. (The clips can be viewed here, here, and here)

IRIB media had shared three different clips from Baghaei’s recent media address dated January 18, 2026, each accompanied by captions. Upon translation of these captions, it was found that Baghaei accused European governments of making blatant lies about human rights issues in Iran and said their claims are invalid. He also spoke about the execution of 800 people in Iran and commented on the release of Mahdieh Esfandiari, who was arrested by French authorities in Lyon on charges over her online posts. Baghaei asserted that Esfandiari had not committed any crime.

None of the captions suggested that he made any comments thanking Pakistan for supporting Iran against Zionist attacks or criticized India for remaining silent. This indicates that the claim is false and misleading.

We also traced Esmail Baghaei’s press briefings from January 12, 2026, and November 2025. However, we found that he did not make the viral statement in any of these media briefings.

Apart from these, the claim about Iranian agencies arresting Indian nationals for involved in spying for Mossad is also false. There are no credible media reports supporting this claim. Iran’s spokesperson has denied reports making such allegations.

The news circulated on some foreign X accounts about Iran’s developments, is totally false. I request all interested people to get their news from the reliable sources. pic.twitter.com/mZpxZVYBXR

— Iran Ambassador Mohammad Fathali (@IranAmbIndia) January 11, 2026

In conclusion, the clip showing Iran’s FM spokesperson Esmail Baghaei thanking Pakistan for standing with Iran during Zionist attacks and criticizing India for choosing silence is fake and AI-generated. In the original clip, he made no such statements. Additionally, claims that Iran arrested Indian nationals for spying for Mossad are false and baseless.

Also Read: Video Claiming Zee News Journalist Questioned COAS on Operation Sindoor Is Digitally Manipulated