Expert: Iran ‘Doctored’ Photo of Missile Launches

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

An Iranian photograph showing a cluster of missile launches was apparently altered to add a fourth missile lifting off from a desert range, a defense analyst said yesterday.

“There’s no doubt the photo was doctored,” the director of the Non-Proliferation Program for the London-based International Institute For Strategic Studies, Mark Fitzpatrick, said.

The image, posted Wednesday on a Web site owned by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, showed four missiles moments after launch, leaving trails of glowing exhaust and clouds of billowing brown dust.

The scene was described as part of military maneuvers in which nine missiles were test fired, including an enhanced version of the Shahab-3. Iranian officials say the new missile has a range of 1,250 miles, which would enable a strike on Israel and most of the Middle East. The tests drew immediate criticism from Washington.

Some media outlets used the photo Wednesday, but not The Associated Press.

The photo on the Sepah News site was replaced yesterday with an image showing three missiles — which appear to be the same as the earlier photo. In place of the fourth missile, however, the photo showed one still on the ground in its launch position and what appears to be a vehicle nearby.

That photo was used by the AP yesterday, and later the apparently altered photo was added for purposes of comparison. The image with four launches was taken off the Sepah site’s main news page, but both photos were on its archive yesterday.

Mr. Fitzpatrick, a former State Department official who followed arms control issues, believes the photo was manipulated after the missile malfunctioned.

“They had a rocket launch and one failed,” he said. “They have had other tests that have succeeded, but Iran tends to exaggerate its capabilities.”

There was no immediate comment from Iranian government officials on the photos.

“The whole purpose of these launches was to demonstrate Iran’s capabilities and a photo showing one out of four rockets failing doesn’t have the intended impact,” Mr. Fitzpatrick said.


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use