Fact Check: Viral Images of US Delta Force Captured by Iran Are Fake

March 23, 2026 | 11:53 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Images claiming that Iran captured members of the Delta Force, the United States (US) military’s elite unit, have been circulating on Facebook [archive] since March 6, 2026.

The three images show a line of men in combat uniforms escorted by masked soldiers and kneeling near a portrait of former Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Iranian flag. “US terrorist are now in safe hands Delta Force operation fails! Many US soldiers captured by Iran,” wrote the account sharing the content.

As of the time this article was written, the post had received 4,500 likes and over 850 comments. So, are the images of the capture of the US elite unit, the Delta Force, by Iran genuine?

FACT CHECK

Tempo verified the images through visual inspection, AI detection tools, and by comparing them with credible sources. The results indicate that the content is a product of AI technology.

Photos Created with AI

Tempo traced the origin of the circulating images using Google’s reverse image search tool. As a result, Tempo found a more complete version of the image uploaded by the X account @gndzongana on March 6, 2026. All three photos bear a watermark in the lower right corner identical to Google’s Gemini AI chatbot. This means the content was generated using the Gemini AI model.

Tempo also used the SynthID Detector tool as a benchmark to analyze the photo. The results showed that all three photos were identical to AI-generated images. SynthID is a content identification tool developed by Google to track AI-generated content.

The US Has Not Deployed Ground Troops to Iran

According to Tempo, the US elite unit, Delta Force, reportedly raided Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on January 3, 2026. However, there have been no credible statements from Iranian authorities supporting claims of a Delta Force capture during this conflict. Reuters fact-checkers have sought confirmation from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but have received no response.

Meanwhile, according to a fact-check by Full Fact, the US has not committed to sending ground troops in a joint attack with Israel against Iran.

As quoted by Al Jazeera, several US officials have not ruled out the option of deploying such troops. For example, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told CBS News that the US is “willing to go as far as we need to” and that Washington will ensure “Iran’s “nuclear ambitions are never achieved.”

Similarly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In his speech, he provided some hints as to why ground troops might be needed to physically secure nuclear materials in Iran.

CONCLUSION

Based on Tempo’s investigation, the photos of the capture of the US elite force, the Delta Force, by Iran are false.

TEMPO FACT-CHECK TEAM

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