Scene from Western film misrepresented as 'Iran executing Israeli spies'

Rights groups say Iranian authorities arrested hundreds of people and executed dozens in a wave of repression following the 12-day war with Israel, but an image shared on social media does not show four people about to be hanged in the Islamic republic. The image in fact shows a scene from "Hang 'Em High", a Western film released in 1968.

"Iran Executes 4, Including a Woman, for Spying for Israel," reads the caption of an image shared on X on June 17, 2025.

The image shows four people standing on gallows with their heads in nooses and covered by black hoods, and their hands tied behind their backs.

It surfaced days after Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran on June 13, targeting nuclear sites and killing several senior military officials and nuclear scientists (archived link).

Iran responded with waves of drone and missile fire, and the demonstration of Israel’s deep intelligence penetration also prompted a major hunt for spies (archived link).

According to Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, six men have been hanged on charges of spying for Israel since the start of the conflict, dozens more on other charges and more than 1,000 arrested during or after the conflict on charges related to the war.

The 12-day war, which was brought to an end by a US-proposed ceasefire on June 24, killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and at least 28 people in Israel.

The same image was also shared alongside similar Facebook, Instagram and X posts.

"Long live Iran law," read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "Excellent Iran. Crime must be punished."

The picture, however, does not show a hanging in Iran.

A reverse image search on Google led to a similar thumbnail for a YouTube video posted on the verified MovieClips channel on October 8, 2016 (archived link). The channel is affiliated with movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The video is titled, "Hang 'Em High (10/12) Movie CLIP - A Hanging and a Shooting (1968) HD".

"Hang 'Em High", which was released in 1968, is a Western film starring American actor Clint Eastwood (archived link).

The falsely shared image appears to be a cropped version of the still shown at the video's 1:18 mark.

The clip was also posted on the Rotten Tomatoes website (archived link).

AFP has debunked several false claims related to the Iran-Israel war.