Viral video misleads users about new China-Afghanistan railway route

A viral video circulating on social media falsely suggests that a newly launched railway connection between China and Afghanistan has been established with the help of Iranian engineering companies.

A viral video circulating on social media falsely suggests that a newly launched railway connection between China and Afghanistan has been established with the help of Iranian engineering companies. A fact-check by iVerify Pakistan has found that the footage dates back to October 2024 and shows the resumption of direct freight train services between China and Afghanistan.

The video began circulating widely on X on October 23, 2026 amid heightened regional tensions and discussions about trade routes involving Afghanistan, Iran and neighbouring countries.

While a new freight train reportedly departed from China’s Shandong Province for Hairatan in northern Afghanistan on October 23 the viral footage does not show that particular journey. The newly reported shipment was expected to reach its destination in approximately 20 days travelling through Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan before entering Afghanistan through the Termez border crossing.

Several social media users shared the older video alongside claims that Iran had helped establish a new railway route connecting Afghanistan with China. Some posts also suggested that the route could facilitate Iranian oil and liquefied petroleum gas exports through Afghanistan to China, while sidelining Pakistan’s role in regional trade.

One post promoting the claim received more than 234,000 views, while another attracted over 43,000 views, according to the fact-check report. Multiple other accounts subsequently circulated the same footage with similar claims.

To verify the video iVerify Pakistan conducted keyword searches across credible Chinese, Afghan, Iranian and international media outlets. The investigation found no reliable reporting connecting the footage to the alleged newly established route involving Iranian engineering companies.

A reverse image search traced the video to Arezo News an Afghan news outlet that published the same footage on October 31, 2024.

Further verification identified reports by Afghan media outlets Kabul Now and Afghanistan International, published on the same date documenting the resumption of direct freight train services between China and Afghanistan.

Those reports stated that a freight train carrying commercial goods had departed from Nantong in China’s Jiangsu Province for Hairatan in northern Afghanistan. The shipment reportedly included 55 wagons carrying items such as electrical appliances and clothing.

The viral footage is authentic but has been presented with a misleading context. It shows a freight railway development from October 2024, not the newly reported shipment from Shandong in October 2026. The video also does not substantiate claims that Iranian engineering companies established a new railway connection between China and Afghanistan.

The distinction matters because old footage can be recirculated to support claims about new developments particularly when regional trade and political tensions attract widespread public attention.