India, Sept. 2 -- As the United States launched fresh strikes on Iran over the Strait of Hormuz deadlock, a video of the purported death of an Iranian leader live on TV has gone viral on American social media. But the reality of the video is not as straightforward as the viral posts claim.

The video seems to have originated on Sunday, August 30. It claims to show the purported death of Nemat Elhami live on stage during a rally on Saturday (August 29). The video was picked up by Iran's opposition news channel, Tousi TV. Iran International, a London-based outlet for Iranian news, also carried the news, citing Tousi.

Crucially, none of the Iranian state media reported the death of the former parliamentarian from Iran's northwestern provinc...