WEBDESK: Azaad fact check: Retired Indian army officer Major General (Dr) GD Bakshi SM, VSM (retd) has shared misinformation on the platform X, falsely claiming that Iran has closed its airspace and that the United States has advised all its citizens to leave the country amid alleged new threats of Iranian missile strikes on Israel and drone attacks in Tehran. Bakshi also frames this as the beginning of “Round two in Iran-Israel conflict,” implying a major escalation in hostilities.
Azaad Fact Check has verified that these claims are baseless. At the time this tweet was posted, Iran’s airspace remained open and was being used by international commercial airlines.
There was no official announcement from Iranian authorities about an airspace closure, nor any corresponding alerts from international aviation bodies such as NOTAM (Notice to Airmen).
Commercial flight tracking data further confirmed that aircraft continued to fly over Iranian territory.
Azaad Fact Check has identified Fake News spread by India-based X handle of retired Indian Major General.
— Azaad Fact Check (@azaadfactcheck) July 4, 2025
The Air space over Iran at the time of this tweet is open and international flights are utilizing the Air space. https://t.co/g8a2jvY3qT pic.twitter.com/mzwuSaRwVL
Even the statement releasing the US citizens was found to be lacking any supporting evidence in the recent advisory or official declaration released by the US State Department.
Around the time of this post, there was no new alert recommending emergency evacuation or a compulsory departure in Iran.
The claim that “Iran has closed its airspace” is misleading. An official alert dated July 2, 2025, clearly states that Iran’s airspace has partially reopened. While there may be disruptions in commercial travel from Tehran and other major cities, the airspace is not fully closed.
This indicates that the blanket declaration by Major General GD Bakshi is not true.
What the alert also verifies, however, is that the previous partial closure was also accompanied by perceived tensions in the region, which is in line of the context, albeit, not with the hectic tone that the post implies.
On the second point, the idea that the US requested all its citizens to leave Iran has to be explained further.
The warning concerns the existing travel warning that has been on since June urging US citizens to avoid traveling to Iran and advising them to leave the country immediately.
This is not a newly-enacted emergency order or last minute evacuation announcement due to recent events.
The warning is not a close response to events that took place between Iran and Israel but an area of continued concern by the US government on issues such as arbitrary detention, and not a direct response to recent developments between Iran and Israel.
In short, both claims, about Iranian airspace and the US evacuation, are either misleading or taken out of context.
Alarmist language, war-mongering rhetoric
The language used by the retired general is also alarmist and speculative, particularly his suggestion that “the world did need a break from constant war and blood letting,” followed by commentary accusing Iran of being “totally isolated in the Muslim world” due to its “needlessly provocative positions on wiping off the State of Israel.”
Iran has closed its air space . US has asked all its citizens to get out of Iran. Iran is threatening to hit Israel with new missiles. Drone attacks on in Tehran. Round two in iran – israel confict about to begin? Actually the world did need a break from constant war and blood…
— Maj Gen (Dr)GD Bakshi SM,VSM(retd) (@GeneralBakshi) July 3, 2025
It is not the first time that comments of an inflammatory and misinformed nature have been made by individuals who are closely associated with either the Indian military or nationalists.
It is part of a broader tendency to push hawkish stories on West Asian conflicts, and at times without much consideration of the facts or diplomatic subtlety.
It also reveals a degree of hypocrisy, those preaching rational state behaviour often cheer for escalations abroad while ignoring calls for restraint at home.
In the context of India’s own growing international isolation on several human rights issues and internal crackdowns, it is ironic for voices linked to the establishment to lecture other nations on rationality or diplomatic isolation.
Such rhetoric not only misinforms the public but adds to the growing global pile of misinformation that feeds conflict rather than calms it.
India, under Prime Minister Modi, has increasingly allowed retired military voices to dominate public discourse on foreign affairs, often bypassing diplomatic fact and indulging in speculative warmongering.
This trend poses a serious risk to public understanding of international conflicts and may further erode credibility in India’s global information landscape.
Read more: Azaad fact check exposes false claim about Indian pilot
