IRANIAN state TV used a photo of an actor from the movie Zero Dark Thirty to "prove" a CIA chief who helped take out their top army commander had died in a spy plane crash.

Taliban fighters had earlier falsely claimed several top level American operatives were killed when the US military E-11A surveillance plane was "shot down" in eastern Afghanistan.

Among the dead – they said – was  Michael D'Andrea, one of the intelligence officers who helped orchestrate the assassination of General Qasem Soleimani.

Iran's Channel One did not provide any evidence to back up the false reports, reports Business Insider.

And instead of screening a photo of D'Andrea, it showed an image of Fredric Lehne, the actor who played a character inspired by him in the 2012 movie.

The news network then went on to state D'Andrea – head of the CIA's activities concerning Iran – "had a key role" in killing Soleimani.

Pentagon officials have already rubbished the Taliban's earlier claims by saying there was "no sign" the craft was taken down by hostile action.

And tonight US military sources were also quick to point out that there were no CIA staff on the military jet.

The MailOnline reports they described Iran's claim that D'Andrea had died as absurd.

A US official earlier confirmed the bodies of two American personnel had been recovered from the crash site

Other dubious news reports claimed 100 people were on board the plane when it went down.

D'Andrea's name began to crop up frequently across Farsi news sites in the wake of the US drone strike which killed Soleimani.

Soleimani was killed at Baghdad airport by a US air strike, personally approved by Donald Trump.

Two missiles fired from a MQ9 Reaper drone struck Soleimani after he disembarked from an aircraft at Baghdad airport.

The Pentagon justified the assassination, saying he was "actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region".

The drone strike came days after protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad, clashing with US forces at the scene.

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