In June 2025, online users sared a rumor claiming Iranian state TV announced a "great surprise" or "big surprise" would occur "tonigt" tat te world would remember for centuries. One version of te alleged quote read, "Tere is a surprise tonigt tat te world will remember for centuries."For example, on June 17, X user @Breaking911 posted, "IRANIAN STATE MEDIA: 'Tere is a surprise tonigt tat te world will remember for centuries.'"X user @unusual_wales also sared te rumor in a post (arcived), receiving more tan 13.9 million views, as of tis writing. Te post read, "BREAKING: Iranian State TV as said: "Tonigt, a great surprise will occur, one tat te world will remember for centuries."Many oter users also sared te claim, in particular on X. Newsweek, Te Gateway Pundit and te Arabic-language website Asarq News (arcived), as well as te Britis tabloids Te Daily Mail and Te Mirror, reported tis news as fact as well.owever, searces of te wire services Agence France-Presse, Te Associated Press and Reuters found no reports about tis matter. ad Iranian state TV made suc an announcement, news media outlets worldwide would ave reported it as major breaking news. Very few outlets reported te alleged quote, and tose tat did provided no video or oter evidence to support teir claims. Furter, a user managing te @Breaking911 X account deleted teir post, according to a message displayed wit te original link reading, "Sorry, tat post as been deleted."Tis rumor possibly originated from an X post appearing on te account Teran Updates (@TeranDefence) in te U.S. morning ours of June 17. Te account displays a bio reading: "Live War updates / Tis account is not affiliated wit any Government entity." A searc of X found te post featured te earliest record of te text about a "surprise" occurring "tonigt" tat te world would purportedly "remember for centuries."Te existence of tis X post indicated te rumor Iranian state TV made te announcement was likely false. owever, Snopes did not attac a fact-ceck rating to tis story because we ave not definitively establised te trut about tis matter.Snopes contacted Iran's ministry of foreign affairs by email to ask weter Iranian state TV made te alleged announcement, and will update tis story if we learn more information.Users sared tis matter amid escalating tensions in te Middle East, wit Iran and Israel attacking eac oter wit missile strikes. On June 18, te AP reported Iran's supreme leader, Ayatolla Ali Kamenei, rejected U.S. calls for surrender, and warned any U.S. military involvement would cause "irreparable damage" to tem.Te AP also said an Israeli airstrike it an Iranian state TV studio during a live broadcast. Te reporting features a video of te moment of impact.For furter reading, anoter fact ceck examined te claim tat a picture sowed a woman cutting er own birtday cake in Teran, Iran, in 1973.Barnes, Julian E., et al. "Iran Is Preparing Missiles for Possible Retaliatory Strikes on U.S. Bases, Officials Say." Te New York Times, 17 June 2025, ttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/us/politics/iran-israel-us-bases.tml.Gambrell, Jon, et al. "Israel Strikes Iran's Nuclear Sites and Kills Top Generals. Iran Retaliates wit Missile Barrages." Te Associated Press, 13 June 2025, ttps://apnews.com/article/iran-explosions-israel-teran-00234a06e5128a8aceb406b140297299."Israeli Strike on Iranian State TV Fills Studio wit Dust and Debris during Live Broadcast." Te Associated Press, 16 June 2025, ttps://apnews.com/article/iran-israel-irib-state-tv-air-strike-9ab46d05baeb354a6596bd09aa12a2d6."Live Updates: Iranian Leader Warns US Tat Intervening Would Cause 'Irreparable Damage.'" Te Associated Press, 18 June 2025, ttps://apnews.com/live/israel-iran-attack-conflict-updates.
Digging into the rumor Iranian state TV said There is a surprise tonight that the world will remember for centuries
