Unidentified multicoloured lights over Tehran spark debate

Unverified videos showing multicoloured lights hovering over Tehran circulated widely on social media on September 20 and 21, sparking online debate about whether the objects were drones, aircraft, LED kites or something else, while no Iranian aviation or defence authority has identified the object, called it a threat, or linked it to any operation. The clips, which are short, low-resolution and unstable, show bright lights in blue, white, pink, yellowish and red, green and blue tones against the night sky. Some posts place the footage near the Azadegan Expressway, with one clip geolocated by accounts on X to that location showing a slow cluster of shifting lights at low altitude around 7:30 p.m. local time on September 20. The footage does not provide enough visual information to establish the object's size, altitude, distance or speed, and its precise location and timing have not been independently verified. It also remains unclear whether separate posts showed different sightings or reuploads of the same video. Online speculation ranged from drones flying in formation to military aircraft and LED-equipped kite, alongside joking references to extraterrestrial visitors.