NEW DELHI, March 9 (ANI): The PIB Fact Check unit has flagged a manipulated video circulating on social media that falsely attributes remarks to Indian Army Chief Gen. Upendra Dwivedi. The clip, shared by Pakistani propaganda accounts, allegedly shows the army chief making claims about informing Israel of an Iranian ship’s location.
According to PIB Fact Check, the video is digitally altered and the claim is entirely false.
In a post on X, the agency stated, “Deepfake Video Alert: Pakistani propaganda accounts are sharing a digitally manipulated video of the Indian Army Chief Gen. Upendra Dwivedi, making false claims that when the Iranian ship crossed international waters, as Israeli strategic allies it was our duty to inform Israel about their exact location as part of our newer strategic deal. Beware! This is an AI-generated deepfake video shared to mislead the public. Gen. Upendra Dwivedi has made no such statement.”
The clarification comes amid heightened tensions in the region and increased misinformation circulating online.
Addressing recent developments in the Indian Ocean, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also spoke about the sinking of the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Dena, which had been returning from India after participating in the International Fleet Review. The vessel was reportedly sunk by the United States while in international waters.
Speaking at the Raisina Dialogue on March 7, Jaishankar highlighted India’s approach in dealing with another Iranian vessel, IRIS Lavan, which had participated in the International Fleet Review and MILAN 2026 exercises held from February 15 to February 25.
The ship had earlier developed technical issues and sought permission to dock in Kochi. According to Jaishankar, India approved the request on March 1 after being approached by Iran, and the vessel later docked at the port. The ship’s 183 crew members are currently staying at naval facilities in Kochi.
Jaishankar described the sinking of IRIS Dena as unfortunate and said India had taken a humanitarian approach when responding to Iran’s request regarding IRIS Lavan.
“You had these ships, and we got a message from the Iranian side that one of the ships, which presumably was closest to our waters at that point, wanted to come into our port. They were reporting that they were having problems. My recollection is this was on the 28th, and on the 1st we said, ‘Okay, you can come in.’ It took them a few days to sail in, and then they docked in Kochi. The people on the ship, many of them young cadets, have disembarked and are in a nearby facility,” Jaishankar said.
He added that when the ship set out for India, the regional situation was very different, as it had been scheduled to participate in a fleet review before getting caught in rapidly changing circumstances.
“For us, when this ship wanted to come in, and that too in difficulties, I think it was the humane thing to do. We were guided by that principle. One of the other ships had a similar situation in Sri Lanka and they took the decision they did, and one unfortunately didn’t make it. We approached it from the point of view of humanity, apart from whatever the legal issues were. I think we did the right thing,” the minister said. (ANI)
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