Several social media users, including pro-Houthi accounts based on their past posts, have been sharing an image since yesterday, allegedly showing the Saudi defence minister kissing the hand of the Iranian president amid a meeting.

However, the image is old and edited using AI.

A reverse image search of the viral photo yielded an Arab News report from July 3 this year, covering the funeral procession of assassinated Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The viral image depicts the Saudi official kissing the Iranian president’s hand, whereas the original image shows him simply shaking hands with the president.

Investigating the image also found several visual discrepancies, such as deformities around the Saudi official’s fingers and hand as he kisses the Iranian president’s hand.

AI-detection tool Hive Detect reported a 99 per cent likelihood of AI generation, while DeepAI and TruthScan also indicated a 90pc likelihood that the image was edited using AI.