Download
← All fact checksAfternoon run · November 9, 2026 · #4 by reach
ConflictPoliticsMiscaptioned media

Did CENTCOM tell Israel to prepare for a third wave of strikes on Iran?

Did US Central Command (CENTCOM) tell Israel to prepare for a possible third wave of strikes on Iran, and does the viral video show US and Israeli military preparations for it?

Can't verify

A single Israeli broadcast report, no US confirmation, and real-but-recycled bomber footage as illustration.

Unsupported. On 7 November 2026, Israel's Channel 13 reported that CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper warned Israeli military leaders to prepare for a possible third wave of strikes on Iran. No CENTCOM or Pentagon statement confirms this, and the B-1B bomber video attached is real but recycled footage from earlier in the conflict.

+4Sources ↓Original post ↗
Likely genuine
The post as it circulated, labelled by our media check.Video · 1:09 · 640×360

Claims

✓ 1 true

US Central Command (CENTCOM) informed senior Israeli military officials that Israel should prepare for a possible third wave of strikes against Iran.1234

“أبلغت القيادة المركزية الأمريكية "سنتكوم" إسرائيل بضرورة الاستعداد لموجة ثالثة محتملة من الضرائب ضد إيران”

✓ Likely trueCentral claimModerate confidence

This claim holds up as reporting, not as confirmed fact. Israeli Channel 13 reported on 7 November 2026 that CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper had passed a message to senior Israeli military leaders that the US might launch a third wave of strikes on Iran, with bridges and power stations among the possible targets, and that he ordered a new 'Iron Gate' task force based in Tampa. Arabic and Balkan outlets carried the same Channel 13 report, which is why the story spread widely, but those outlets trace back to the same single broadcast — they are not independent confirmation. Earlier, separate reporting pointed the same way: the Guardian on 22 October 2026 described target lists drawn up for a joint campaign after the US midterms, and Iran International reported US officials telling Israel to prepare. What settles it as 'likely true' rather than 'true' is the missing official piece: we found no public CENTCOM or Pentagon confirmation or denial of the specific message, and no fact-check debunking it. A reader should treat the substance as credibly reported but resting on one originating source.

Still open: Did CENTCOM or the Pentagon confirm, deny or simply neither confirm nor deny the message privately? Channel 13 has not published the full text of the reported warning, so we cannot compare the caption's wording to the original report line by line.

The video shows US B-1B Lancer bombers as part of the current US military escalation against Iran.67

~ Partly trueModerate confidence

The aircraft are what the video suggests: real B-1B Lancers, identifiable by their four-engine layout, variable-geometry wings and 'DY' tail code for Dyess Air Force Base in Texas. But the footage is older than the post implies. Matching clips of B-1B taxiing and takeoff circulated from early March 2026, during the period of Operation Epic Fury, including flight-operation video released by the Pentagon and carried by Reuters. So the video is authentic material used as illustration, not new imagery of the alleged third wave, and the post never says when or where it was filmed. That distinction matters because dramatic bomber footage adds a sense of immediacy the underlying news report does not carry on its own. The believable look of the planes is what makes the whole post feel like proof of escalation, when in fact the claim stands or falls entirely on the Channel 13 reporting.

Still open: We could not establish the first upload date of this specific compilation, so we cannot say who assembled it or when.

What was posted

X

A post on X with an Arabic caption and a short video. The caption says the US military's Central Command has told Israel to get ready for a possible third wave of strikes against Iran, and it leads with red warning and alert emojis. The attached video shows real B-1B Lancer bombers taxiing and taking off from an airbase. The video carries no spoken or on-screen text making the claim itself; the warning comes only from the caption.

“‼️⚠️ هام أبلغت القيادة المركزية الأمريكية "سنتكوم" إسرائيل بضرورة الاستعداد لموجة ثالثة محتملة من الضربات ضد إيران.”

“‼️⚠️ Important: US Central Command (CENTCOM) has informed Israel of the need to prepare for a possible third wave of strikes against Iran.” — translated

Posted on X by the account Raymond Hakim. The caption cites no source by name, though the wording matches a report aired by Israeli Channel 13 on 7 November 2026 and relayed by several outlets. No posting date is visible on the post as captured.

Who posted it

X
@raymondfhakim

Account 10.1 years old

View the account on X ↗

Account check

Looks like a genuine account60%
Likelihood of automation12%

Estimates from public signals — account age, posting pattern, audience — not a judgement of the person behind the account, and separate from whether this post is true.

What stood out

  • Account is a real, long-standing X profile: joined October 2016 (~10 years old as of Nov 2026), bio 'Activist interested in Lebanese and Arab affairs — two armies do not build a state'.
  • Identifiable individual: Raymond Hakim is a Lebanese (Christian) activist known for campaigning for the implementation of UN Resolution 1701 and for anti-Hezbollah/anti-Iran commentary; cited by name as an 'activist and media figure' in Lebanese outlets (Elsiyasa, Addiyar, Masrawy, Al-Arab Portal).
  • Substantial organic footprint: ~80,000 followers (Feb 2024) growing to ~100,700 (Aug 2024) per Meir Amit ITIC monitoring — consistent with a genuine opinion-leader account, not a throwaway or sock puppet.
  • Posting pattern is human-paced and event-driven (reactions to strikes, Beirut property disputes, Sydney beach incident, Houthi missile claims) rather than high-volume automated amplification; no evidence of coordinated bot-network behaviour found.
  • Reliability concerns: An-Nahar's fact-check unit twice traced misleading content to his posts — a 15 Feb 2026 AI-generated video presented as an Iranian 'Kowsar' jet launching from the Shahid Bagheri carrier, and a 10 Apr 2026 post presenting a 2018 video as Hezbollah entering Sunni areas of Beirut.
  • Strong partisan alignment: heavily amplified by pro-Israel/pro-Saudi channels (Israeli Arabic-language government pages, All Israel News) and monitored by Israeli think tanks as an anti-Hezbollah voice; commentary is advocacy rather than neutral reporting.
  • Cited as a source by Airwars for Syria airstrike claims (March 2024), showing he is sometimes used as a primary witness/source by professional monitors — but appears alongside other unverified social sources.
  • Profile submission itself contained no bio, follower count, creation date or sampled posts, so grading relies on external records of the handle; name collision with an unrelated nephrologist and a deceased French film producer is not relevant to this handle.
Signals (10)+
Account created
2016-10
Followers estimate
~80,000 (Feb 2024) to ~100,700 (Aug 2024)
Posting cadence
Frequent, event-driven, human-style commentary
Identity confirmability
High — consistently quoted by name in Lebanese/Arab media
Affiliation
Independent Lebanese activist/citizen commentator; anti-Hezbollah, pro-1701, pro-Saudi/anti-Iran framing
Fact check history
2 documented An-Nahar FactCheck cases (Feb 2026 AI-generated jet video; Apr 2026 recycled 2018 Beirut video)
Third party monitoring
Meir Amit ITIC reports (2024); Airwars incident sourcing (2024)
Amplification
Reposted by Israeli Arabic-language gov pages and pro-Israel outlets
Bot indicators
None found; no network/spam evidence
Profile metadata completeness
Low — submission lacked bio, follower count, timestamps and post sample

Account checked November 9, 2026, 14:57 UTC

The media

Video
Likely genuinePresented as real footage

✓ What is genuine

The bombers, the base setting and the flight operations are real. The clips show genuine US B-1B Lancer activity, and the Pentagon has itself released similar footage of B-1 operations tied to strikes on Iran. The only issue is that the footage is old material reused as illustration, not evidence of a new wave.

The tells

  • ●●● Strong signal Aircraft geometry, four-engine layout and variable-geometry wings match the B-1B Lancer, and the 'DY' tail code matches Dyess Air Force Base aircraft.our visual review
  • ●●○ Supporting signal Ground crew, support vehicles, runway signage and a mountain backdrop are all consistent and physically plausible.our visual review
  • ●●○ Supporting signal The footage matches B-1B clips that circulated from early 2026, so it is recycled rather than new — a dating problem, not a fakery problem.source_ids 6 and 7

Synthetic-media detector

Detector not consulted

The media is incidental to the claim; the detector was not needed.

How we checked the media

  • Reviewed keyframes from the video by eye for aircraft type, markings, ground equipment and setting.
  • Compared the aircraft and setting with publicly released footage of B-1B operations described in our sources.
  • Searched for viral or fact-checked versions of B-1B bomber footage tied to 'third wave' claims.

Sources

7 sources reviewed

Further reading

  • 1Ajel Carries the original Channel 13 report on the CENTCOM message and the possible targets.
  • 4The Guardian (via NewsCord) Explains the earlier, independent reporting on planning for a post-midterm campaign that made this story believable.
  • 7Nai Dunia Shows that B-1B Lancer footage from this conflict was already circulating earlier in 2026.

The full story

The post did not invent its core claim from nothing. On 7 November 2026, Israeli Channel 13 reported that Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command, had sent a message to senior Israeli military leaders: the United States might carry out a third wave of strikes on Iran, potentially targeting bridges and power stations. The same report said Cooper had ordered a new 'Iron Gate' task force based in Tampa. Arabic-language outlets and Balkan sites picked it up within days, and the wording travelled largely intact — which is why the caption reads like a direct leak.

The report also landed on prepared ground. On 22 October 2026, the Guardian described US military advisers drawing up a detailed target list for a fresh joint US-Israel assault to follow the 3 November midterms, and noted Iranian officials themselves using the phrase 'third wave'. Iran International reported separately that US officials had told Israel to prepare for a possible attack within weeks. In other words, talk of another round was already in the air before Channel 13 aired its story.

The bomber video slots neatly into that picture. The aircraft are real, the markings are real, and the Pentagon has released similar B-1 footage from this conflict. Add the alert emojis and the sense of urgency is immediate. What the post never mentions is that the footage is older, or that the claim behind it comes from one broadcast and has no public US confirmation.

Kernel of truth

A genuine Israeli Channel 13 report on 7 November 2026 about a CENTCOM warning to Israel, set against earlier independent reporting of US-Israeli planning for a post-midterm campaign.

Timeline

  1. March 2026

    B-1B Lancer taxi and takeoff footage circulates as the US runs Operation Epic Fury against Iran; the Pentagon releases its own flight-operation video including B-1 bombers. 6Reuters (via X)

  2. October 7, 2026

    Iran International reports that US officials told Israel to prepare for a possible attack on Iran within weeks. 3Iran International

  3. October 22, 2026

    The Guardian reports US military advisers have drawn up target lists for a fresh joint US-Israel assault to follow the 3 November midterms. 4The Guardian (via NewsCord)

  4. November 7, 2026

    Israeli Channel 13 reports that CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper warned senior Israeli military leaders of a possible third wave of strikes on Iran and ordered a new 'Iron Gate' task force. 1Ajel

How it was framed

False contextMisleading content

The core claim is a real news report, so it is not fabricated. The problem is context: real, older B-1B bomber footage is presented alongside an urgent caption implying it shows the coming third wave, and the post gives no date for the video and names no source for the news. That pairing frames an unconfirmed single-source report as visual proof of imminent escalation.

  • “Visual proof”. Real B-1B bomber footage is attached to a caption about a new wave of strikes, implying the video shows preparations for it.
  • Urgency. The caption opens with '‼️⚠️ هام' ('Important') and alert emojis.
  • Missing context. The post gives no date or location for the video and does not name Channel 13 as the source of the claim.
  • Ongoing-threat framing. The wording presents a 'third wave' as something Israel must now prepare for, without noting that no US official has confirmed it.

Posted on X by the account Raymond Hakim. The caption's substance matches a report aired by Israeli Channel 13 on 7 November 2026 and relayed by outlets including Ajel and Infomax.mk. No posting date, follower count or engagement figures were captured.

Bias

NoneSlightModerateStrong

Leans alarmist / war-escalation framing. The post amplifies an unconfirmed Israeli broadcast report about a possible US attack on Iran with urgent warning emojis and dramatic bomber footage, pushing an imminent-escalation narrative without official confirmation or context about the ongoing diplomacy.

Bias describes how the post frames its message — the slant of the language, selection and emphasis — and is judged separately from whether the claim is true. A true claim can still be framed with a strong slant.

How we checked

53 s
  1. 1

    Searched for reporting on whether CENTCOM told Israel to prepare for a third wave of strikes on Iran.

  2. 2

    Searched for 'third wave' strike coverage tied to Israel and Iran in November 2026.

  3. 3

    Searched fact-checking sites for any existing check on the CENTCOM–Israel third wave claim.

  4. 4

    Searched for viral B-1B Lancer bomber video tied to a 'third wave' claim and to Dyess Air Force Base footage.

  5. 5

    Reviewed keyframes from the video by eye to identify the aircraft, markings and setting.

  6. 6

    Compared what we saw with publicly released B-1B footage described in our sources.

✓ Claim checked✓ Media checked✓ Sources checked

Why 40% confidence

Low

The overall verdict is CANT_VERIFY with low confidence, while the central claim is rated LIKELY_TRUE at moderate confidence and the video LIKELY_AUTHENTIC at moderate confidence. We could not reach high confidence because everything rests on a single Israeli broadcast and no US official has publicly confirmed the message. There is also no fact-check either way to anchor it. That combination supports 'credibly reported but unconfirmed', not 'proven'.

Limits. We did not open or read any of the source pages in full; our assessment rests on the search results and source snippets recorded here plus our own visual review of the video. We did not run an automated media-authenticity detector, because the footage was not pivotal to the claim. We could not establish when or by whom this specific compilation was first assembled.

What we don’t know

  • Whether CENTCOM or the Pentagon has confirmed, denied or declined to comment on the reported message.
  • The exact wording of the Channel 13 report, and whether the caption's phrasing matches it.
  • Whether the reported 'Iron Gate' task force has been formally established.
  • When and where this specific bomber compilation was first uploaded and whether it mixes clips from different dates.

Spot it yourself

Why we can't tell

Looks suspicious, isn’t proof

  • Alert and warning emojis at the start of the caption. Urgent styling is a reason to slow down, not proof the content is false — news outlets do the same.
  • An anonymous-looking social media account with no outlet branding. Who posted it tells you little about whether the underlying report exists.
  • Dramatic military footage attached to a news claim. Real footage can be recycled, but its presence is not evidence of fakery either.
  • A claim that sounds like a leak. Leaks are sometimes real; the question is whether anyone credible reported it.

The actual evidence

  • The substance of the caption matches a specific, dated report from Israeli Channel 13 on 7 November 2026, carried by several outlets — which is why we did not call it false.
  • Those outlets all trace to the same single broadcast, so the story has one origin, not multiple independent confirmations.
  • Earlier, separate reporting from the Guardian and Iran International described US-Israeli planning for another round, which makes the report plausible.
  • No public CENTCOM or Pentagon statement confirming or denying the specific message was found, and no fact-check has debunked it.
  • The bomber footage is real but dates to earlier in 2026, so it illustrates the claim rather than proving it.
  1. 1

    Find the original report, not the reposts

    Search the key phrase plus the outlet name, here 'Channel 13' and 'third wave'. If every version you find quotes the same broadcast, you have one source, not five.

  2. 2

    Look for the official side

    Check whether the command or government named in the claim has said anything publicly. For military claims, that means the defence department or the command's own channels. Silence is not proof either way, but it caps how confident you should be.

  3. 3

    Date the footage

    Pause on distinctive details — here the 'DY' tail code pointing to Dyess Air Force Base — and search for those details plus the conflict's name. If the same clips appear months earlier, they are archive material.

  4. 4

    Separate the picture from the words

    Ask what the video itself claims. This one says nothing; the warning lives entirely in the caption. Judge the caption on reporting, and the video on its date.

Takeaway

A post can pair a real report with real footage and still mislead you, because the footage may be old and the report may rest on one source. Check the reporting and the date separately before you decide.

Questions people ask

Did CENTCOM really tell Israel to prepare for a third wave of strikes on Iran?+

Israeli Channel 13 reported on 7 November 2026 that CENTCOM chief Admiral Brad Cooper warned senior Israeli military leaders about a possible third wave of strikes, potentially hitting bridges and power stations. Several outlets repeated the report, but all trace to that one broadcast, and no public CENTCOM or Pentagon confirmation has been found.

Is the B-1B bomber video in the post fake?+

No. The aircraft are genuine B-1B Lancers, identifiable by their shape and the 'DY' tail code for Dyess Air Force Base. But matching clips circulated from early 2026 during Operation Epic Fury, so the footage appears to be recycled older material used as illustration rather than new video of the alleged third wave.

Why is the verdict 'can't verify' if the claim is likely true?+

The report is credible and consistent with earlier independent reporting about US-Israeli planning. But it rests on a single broadcast, with no official confirmation and no fact-check either way. That is enough to say the claim is supported by reporting, but not enough to treat it as established fact.

What does 'third wave' mean here?+

It refers to a further round of US or US-Israeli strikes on Iran, following earlier strikes in 2026 during Operation Epic Fury. The Guardian reported in October 2026 that Iranian officials themselves used the phrase 'third wave' when discussing a possible renewed campaign after the US midterms.

Should I share posts like this one?+

Treat it as a lead, not proof. Before sharing, find the original report, check whether the named military command has said anything publicly, and date any footage. Sharing urgent-looking clips with no date or named source spreads the impression of escalation faster than the reporting behind it.

Go deeper

CENTCOM
United States Central Command, the US military command responsible for operations across the Middle East and Central Asia.
B-1B Lancer
A long-range US strategic bomber with four engines and variable-geometry (swing) wings, identifiable by its shape and tail markings.
Tail code
Letters painted on an aircraft's tail that identify its home base or unit; 'DY' indicates Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
False context
When genuine content — a real photo, video or quote — is shared with incorrect information about when, where or why it was made.
Single-source claim
A claim that traces back to one original report or witness; other outlets repeating it do not add independent confirmation.

People also search for

CENTCOM warned Israel third wave strikes Iranهل أبلغت سنتكوم إسرائيل بالاستعداد لموجة ثالثة من الضربات ضد إيرانB-1B Lancer bombers video Iran third waveAdmiral Brad Cooper Israel message Iran strikes November 2026Israel prepares third wave Iran strikes fact check
For educators+
Single-source reporting and why repetition across outlets is not independent corroborationRecycled footage as false context: real media, wrong timeThe difference between 'unconfirmed' and 'false'How urgent visual design shapes perception of a news claim
  • If five outlets all quote the same broadcast, how many independent sources does the story really have? What would a second independent source look like here?
  • The bomber video is real. Does that make the post more or less trustworthy, and why?
  • Should a news organisation publish a single-source national-security report? What checks would you want before doing so?

About this check

Platform
X
Posted by
@raymondfhakim
Posted
November 9, 2026
Age when checked
Under 24 hours old when checked
Where it spread
IR, Israel, United States, IQ
Audience
International audience
Language
AR
Status
● Post is live
Verified
November 9, 2026, 14:58 UTC
Published
November 9, 2026, 14:58 UTC

Reach. Arabic X accounts posted military-footage video with 'CENTCOM informed Israel to prepare for possible third wave of strikes on Iran' (attributed to Israel's Channel 13); @RaymondFHakim post 715 likes per syndication; Misbar EN+AR fact-checks 9 Nov.

This verdict was generated with AI from the sources shown. AI can make mistakes — check the sources before relying on it.

Check anything yourself, in seconds.

Share any social post or video to What the Fact and get the verdict, the confidence, and the receipts.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play