The Onion accidentally breaks a real news story

The Onion newspaper stand
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Maybe the truth really is told in jokes. Last Tuesday — the day after six world powers struck a nuclear deal with Iran — the satirical newspaper The Onion published this headline: "U.S. Soothes Upset Netanyahu With Shipment Of Ballistic Missiles."

One day later, Israeli news source Haaretz printed an actual story with this notably similar headline: "After Iran Deal, Obama Offers Military Upgrade To Help Israel Swallow Bitter Iranian Deal." No, that was not a mistake. And yes, The Onion's joke actually was pretty darn close to a reality.

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In real life, Netanyahu turned down Obama's offer, as he did not want it to seem like Israel had accepted the Iran deal. The Pentagon clarified to reporters over the weekend that it would not be offering any weapons to Israel because of the Iran deal.

Regardless of the differing outcomes in the two tales, Haaretz couldn't get over the fact that The Onion scooped them. Becca Stanek

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