The Kremlin footage seemed calculated to suggest that while the United States and Israel were bombarding longtime Russian partner country Iran, it was business as usual for President Vladimir Putin.
On March 2-3, Putin's administration published videos showing him meeting with officials far removed from international affairs: the governor of the Amur region, in Russia's Far East, and the head of the federal treasury.
As usual, state TV channels dutifully ran reports and showed footage from the meetings, in each case telling viewers that the meeting took place "today."
In fact, though, both meetings were recorded at some earlier date, Systema, RFE/RL's Russian investigative unit, has found.
The giveaway? The plants in Putin's office in the Kremlin.
Last month, Systema determined that meetings the Kremlin and state TV indicated occurred in his office from February 9-17 had actually been recorded earlier. The main piece of evidence was an aglaonema plant, also known as a Chinese evergreen, seen behind Putin in official footage and images.
Close-ups show a plant in Putin's Kremlin office from images published by the Kremlin on these dates: September 2025 to February 2026 (1); February 25, 2026 (2); March 2, 2026 (3); March 3, 2026 (4).
Over the autumn and into early February, the plant grew thicker and some of its leaves yellowed noticeably -- but in footage presented as fresh beginning February 9, the growth and decay appeared to have reversed themselves, with the yellowed leaves green once again.
After Systema published a report on the developments, which suggested Putin had not appeared on camera for 11 days, the Kremlin replaced the plant, as well as one in the other corner behind Putin's desk. In footage published on February 25 of a meeting with conductor and Bolshoi Theater Director Valery Gergiyev that the Kremlin said took place the previous evening, entirely different aglaonemas can be seen.
However, in the meetings Putin purportedly held on March 2-3, the older plant is back, clearly indicating the footage was shot at an earlier date.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Bolshoi Theater Director Valery Gergiyev at the Kremlin on February 24.
According to the Kremlin, Putin held phone calls with three Middle Eastern leaders on March 2 -- Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the king of Bahrain, and the emir of Qatar -- and with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on March 3.
But by airing footage of meetings with domestic officials and claiming they took place on those days, the Kremlin may have been seeking to show Russians that Putin's mind is on his own country and that the situation surrounding Iran is not a major source of concern.
SEE ALSO: The Quiet Of The Kremlin: Upheaval In Iran, Venezuela Gets A Muted Moscow ResponseThe US-Israeli campaign against Iran, which has closer ties with Russia than any other country in the Middle East, threatens to further curtail Moscow's regional influence following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. It comes after the United States captured Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, also an ally of the Kremlin, and amid signs that Washington could intervene in Cuba, as well.
At the same time, analysts say Putin is wary of antagonizing the United States for fear it could increase pressure on Moscow and diminish its chances of achieving its goals in its war against Ukraine, which is the Kremlin's main priority.
SEE ALSO: Where's Putin? How The Kremlin Hides His Location With Three Nearly Identical OfficesInvestigations by Systema have revealed that prevaricating about the timing of Putin's meetings is a common practice for the Kremlin.
The arrangement of books in a cabinet behind Putin's desk showed that by May, the Kremlin had passed off old footage as new at least five times in 2025, and Systema found evidence that it continued to do so later in the year.
Separately, Systema determined that the Kremlin has repeatedly misled the public about the location of Putin, who for several years has used three nearly identical offices in different parts of the country.