- Israel prepared to launch airstrikes on Iran as part of Operation Lion on June 12-13.
- Pizza orders near the Pentagon spiked before the airstrikes, indicating possible crisis activity.
- The Pentagon Pizza Index has historically predicted global events based on local pizza sales.
As Israel prepared to launch airstrikes on Iran as part of its Operation Lion, there was frantic activity on the nights of June 12 and 13 thousands of miles away at pizza outlets in Arlington, Virginia. What's the connection, you ask?
Most of these fast-food chains that reported unusually high activity and sales were located near the Pentagon, the US military headquarters. The spike in pizza orders near the Pentagon and the US Department of Defence has, on multiple occasions in the past, accurately predicted global crises, according to a report in The Economic Times.
An X account, Pentagon Pizza Index, now records and reports the activity on a regular basis, often indicating what's brewing in international politics.
On Friday, roughly an hour before the first reports of Israeli strikes on Iran came in, pizza orders around the Pentagon spiked.
“As of 6:59 pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity,” Pentagon Pizza Report posted on Thursday.
As of 6:59pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity. pic.twitter.com/ZUfvQ1JBYM
— Pentagon Pizza Report (@PenPizzaReport) June 12, 2025
On June 13, there were similar reports.
"With about an hour left before close, the 2nd closest Dominos to the Pentagon (about 8 min drive) is experiencing EXTREMELY high levels of traffic compared to a normal Thursday at about 11:00 pm ET," the account posted.
With 30 min to close, this Dominos continues to experience extremely high traffic.
— Pentagon Pizza Report (@PenPizzaReport) June 13, 2025
Freddie's Beach Bar, however, has jumped back up to average levels of activity. pic.twitter.com/WRicw1ox2v
Cold War
It all started during the Cold War when the Soviet operatives noticed the pizza delivery activity in Washington and reported to their bosses in Moscow if America was preparing for something big.
On August 1, 1990, a Domino's franchisee in Washington reported a massive surge in pizza deliveries to the CIA buildings. On August 2, Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait. A similar pattern was noticed ahead of Operation Desert Storm in 1991, The Guardian reported.
Over the years, the theory remained in place and has now made its way to social media. The Pentagon Pizza Index, among some of the other pages, used open-source intelligence (OSINT) tools, including Google Maps and real-time restaurant activity.
Iran Hits Back
On Friday night and Saturday morning, Iran struck back at Israel's largest cities - Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Air raid sirens were heard and people ran to seek cover in bomb shelters as Israeli defence systems intercepted Iranian missiles in the sky.
The Iranian retaliation came after Israel targeted the Islamic Republic's military and nuclear installations and killed multiple high-ranking military officials, including Hossein Salami, the chief of the Revolutionary Guards.
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