Great Prophet III was a two-day Iranian military exercise held July 2008. While it was widely seen as a show of strength against a potential attack by Israel, key information about the demonstration—emanating from government-tied Iranian media—was reportedly false or exaggerated. Among the suspect material was doctored missile test footage and exaggerated claims about the weapons used.New York Times: Experts Point to Deceptions in Iran's Military Display (July 12, 2008)

Initial reports of the Great Prophet III exercise, appearing in major newspapers throughout the world, were accompanied by a photo showing four missiles launched simultaneously. Subsequent analysis, however, proved one of the missiles to have been Photoshopped into the image.The Times (UK): Picture: Iran 'Fakes' Missile Launch After Misfire (July 10, 2008) In addition, a video giving the impression of multiple launches may have actually been footage of one missile filmed from multiple angles.New York Times: Experts Point to Deceptions in Iran's Military Display (July 12, 2008)

According to analysts, the major claim of the Iranian government—that it had tested missiles with a range of 1,250 miles—may have been a bluff. Missile launch footage purported to show an advanced version of the Shahab 3 missile. The missiles depicted, however, appeared identical to the standard Shahab 3, with an 800-mile range.New York Times: Experts Point to Deceptions in Iran's Military Display (July 12, 2008) Iran had claimed that the missiles shown were capable of reaching the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, whose distance from Iran is near the upper limit of the standard Shahab 3's range.TimeandDate.com: Current local times and distance from Tel Aviv