  Aims: We aim to understand the star formation associated with the luminous
young stellar object (YSO) IRAS 18345-0641 and to address the complications
arising from unresolved multiplicity in interpreting the observations of
massive star-forming regions.
  Methods: New infrared imaging data at sub-arcsec spatial resolution are
obtained for IRAS 18345-0641. The new data are used along with mid- and far-IR
imaging data, and CO (J=3-2) spectral line maps downloaded from archives to
identify the YSO and study the properties of the outflow. Available
radiative-transfer models are used to analyze the spectral energy distribution
(SED) of the YSO.
  Results: Previous tentative detection of an outflow in the H_2 (1-0) S1 line
(2.122 micron) is confirmed through new and deeper observations. The outflow
appears to be associated with a YSO discovered at infrared wavelengths. At high
angular resolution, we see that the YSO is probably a binary. The CO (3--2)
lines also reveal a well defined outflow. Nevertheless, the direction of the
outflow deduced from the H_2 image does not agree with that mapped in CO. In
addition, the age of the YSO obtained from the SED analysis is far lower than
the dynamical time of the outflow. We conclude that this is probably caused by
the contributions from a companion. High-angular-resolution observations at
mid-IR through mm wavelengths are required to properly understand the complex
picture of the star formation happening in this system, and generally in
massive star forming regions, which are located at large distances from us.
