A video of a restaurant fire in Tajikistan is falsely shared as visuals of Israel’s Home Ministry hit by an Iranian missile
Amid the ongoing Israel-Iran tensions, a video showing a massive fire engulfing a building-like structure is being circulated on social media (here, here, and here). The post is being shared with the claim that Iran targeted and destroyed Israel’s Home Ministry building with a missile. In this article, let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The video shows Israel’s Home Ministry building engulfed in flames after being destroyed by an Iranian missile.
Fact: The video shows a fire at the Yakkasaroy (VIP) restaurant, formerly known as Temurmalik, in Khujand, Tajikistan. The incident took place on 19 June 2025 and was caused by smouldering barbecue coals, according to local reports. The restaurant is located near the Sugdiyon Hotel on the left bank of the Syr Darya. Visuals from the viral video match photos of the location available on Google Maps. The incident has no connection to the current Israel–Iran conflict. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to the same video on YouTube, where the description stated that the fire broke out at the Suhtor Dar restaurant “Temurmalik” in Tajikistan.
Taking clues from this, we used relevant keywords and found multiple media reports (here, here, and here) which stated that on 19 June 2025 at 2 pm, a massive fire broke out at the Yakkasaroy (VIP) restaurant in Khujand, Tajikistan, formerly known as Temurmalik. The ship-shaped, three-storey restaurant, located near the Sugdiyon Hotel on the left bank of the Syr Darya, suffered extensive damage, with the top two floors completely burned down and around 400 square metres affected. The fire reportedly started due to smouldering barbecue coals thrown near firewood. No injuries were reported, 12 fire tankers were deployed, and an investigation is ongoing.
We looked up the location of the Yakasaroy VIP restaurant on Google Maps and found that it is situated in Khujand, on the left bank of the Syr Darya, near the Sugdiyon Hotel. Although Google Maps Street View was not available, we reviewed the photos of the Sugdiyon Hotel uploaded on Google Maps. By comparing these photos with those seen in the viral video, we identified several matching elements, including the pedestrian overpass, colonnade, and a small water pond inside the hotel premises. These similarities confirm that the viral video was filmed in Tajikistan, not Israel.
To sum up, a video of a restaurant fire in Tajikistan is falsely shared as visuals of Israel’s Home Ministry hit by an Iranian missile.