Did Iranians burn Baal statues at rallies? What we know

In late February and early March 2026, social media users claimed that people in Iran burned statues of Baal, an ancient Middle Eastern god worshipped before the Abrahamic religions appeared in the region, during public rallies. 

Some posts also suggested a link between the Baal statue burnings and the decisions by the U.S. and Israel to attack Iran. For example, this Instagram post (archived) claimed, "U.S. and Israel launch strike on Iran after Baal statue burnings."

Different versions of the claim spread on social media, some of which only pertained to the statues (archived) being burned (archived). Others alleged (archived) the statues represented (archived) the U.S., Israel (archived) and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein (archived).

While several Iran-based news organizations reported on the Baal burnings, we could not independently verify the footage or images. Our efforts were further complicated by a near-total internet blackout in Iran amid the ongoing war with Israel and the United States. Additionally, it wasn't possible to determine whether the burnings played a role in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran. However, neither government has mentioned the Baal burnings as a grievance, and the strikes began about two weeks after some Iranians burned the statues. As such, we've left this claim unrated.

The Tehran Times, an English-language daily newspaper in Iran that describes itself as "the voice of the Islamic Revolution," posted (archived) two images of a Baal statue burning to X on Feb. 11, 2026. The source of these images was unclear at the time of publication. The Tehran Times said in the post that the statute was burned "to protest the satanic crimes that happened on Epstein Island." We couldn't independently verify whether that was true.

Iran International, which says it uses "firsthand accounts from citizen journalists" to report news out of Iran, published two stories about the Baal statue burnings. The shorter of the two (archived) reported the burnings took place at state-organized rallies marking the anniversary of Iran's Feb. 11, 1979, revolution. The other report (archived) offered a more comprehensive analysis of the motivations behind burning the statues.

According to Iran International, organizers presented the burnings as a symbolic protest against Epstein and alleged child abuse by Western elites following the U.S. Department of Justice's release of a trove of documents related to Epstein. Participants in these protests reportedly chanted "death to Israel" and "death to America." Iran International reported that participants said the Baal burnings "symbolized resistance to what they described as corrupt Western systems and Zionist ideology."

The news outlet further reported that Mehr, an Iranian state-controlled news agency, said the statues were intended to be effigies representing "the idol of Baal," who is portrayed as a false god in Abrahamic religions such as Islam. Some versions of the Baal statues, which were burned in multiple cities around the country, included additional imagery referencing Israel, U.S. President Donald Trump and the number 666 — which often symbolizes the Antichrist or evil.

We were unable to independently confirm details included in the reports.

Google Lens reverse image searches of frames from the burning videos led us to multiple links from the Iranian video-sharing platform Aparat. However, the website was inaccessible as of  March 4. That same day, The Associated Press reported that Iran's internet had been down for about four days.

The internet blackout also hindered our efforts to research this story through other Iran-based websites.

For further reading, we investigated a video claiming to show Iranian mourners calling for revenge over U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.