A fake news story has touched off a Twitter confrontation between nuclear powers Pakistan and Israel, The Guardian reports.

The exchange reportedly took place following the publication of a fake story headlined “Israeli Defense Minister: If Pakistan sends ground troops to Syria on any pretext, we will destroy this country with a nuclear attack”.

The story appeared on December 20 on the AWD News site.

In an apparent response to the story, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif sent a warning to Israel on Twitter that “Pakistan is a nuclear state too.”

AWD has been identified by fact-checking organizations as a fake news site, according to The Guardian.

Israel’s defense ministry reportedly tweeted back on Saturday, saying the original story was “totally fictitious.”

There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan to Israel’s response.

Israel maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying the existence of an arsenal but is widely believed to have its own nuclear weapons.  Pakistan became a nuclear power in 1998. The countries have no diplomatic ties.