Pizza at the Pentagon: How a food delivery tracker may have predicted Israel's attack on Iran
The timing of Israel's plan to attack Iran was top secret. But Washington pizza delivery trackers guessed something was up before the first bombs fell. About an hour before Iranian state TV first reported loud explosions in Tehran, pizza orders around the Pentagon went through the roof, according to a viral X account claiming to offer "hot intel" on "late-night activity spikes" at the US military headquarters. "As of 6:59 pm ET nearly all pizza establishments nearby the Pentagon have experienced a HUGE surge in activity," the account Pentagon Pizza Report posted on Thursday.
Not confining its analysis to pizza, the account noted three hours later that a gay bar near the Pentagon had "abnormally low traffic for a Thursday night" and said this probably pointed to "a busy night at the Pentagon". While far from scientific, the Pentagon pizza theory "is not something the internet just made up", The Takeout, an online site covering restaurants and food trends, noted earlier this year.
Pentagon-adjacent pizza joints also got much busier than usual during Israel's 2024 missile strike on Iran, it said, as there are "a multitude of fast food restaurants in the Pentagon complex, but no pizza places". Pizza deliveries to the Pentagon reportedly doubled right before the US invasion of Panama in December 1989, and surged again before Operation Desert Storm in 1991. US President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal he was fully aware in advance of the bombing campaign, which Israel says is needed to end Iran's nuclear program. "We know what's going on." For the rest of Americans, pepperoni pie activity was not the only way to tell something was about to happen. Washington had already announced it was moving some diplomats and their families out of the Middle East on Wednesday.
And close to an hour before Israel unleashed its firepower on Iran, the US ambassador in Jerusalem, Mike Huckabee, sent out a rather revealing X post: "At our embassy in Jerusalem and closely monitoring the situation. We will remain here all night. 'Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!'"
Iran has accused the US of being complicit in Israel's attacks, Washington has denied the accusation, and told Iran at the United Nations Security Council it would be "wise" to negotiate over its nuclear program.
Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei saying dialogue with the US over nuclear would be "meaningless" in light of Israel's strikes. He said Israel "succeeded in influencing" the diplomatic process, and Friday's Israeli attack would not have happened without US permission.
"The other side [the US] acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran's territory," Baghaei was quoted as saying. Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons. Trump told the Reuters news agency that while he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming, they still saw room for an accord.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
US politician and husband killed, others injured, after madman posing as cop shoots them
A Minnesota state politician and her husband were killed, and another politician and his wife were seriously injured in a 'politically motivated attack' when a madman posing as a police officer turned up at their homes and opened fire, authorities said. Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were gunned down in their Brooklyn Park home shortly after 2am on Saturday local time (4pm AET), The NY Post reports. The pair was killed after the gunman targeted Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in their Champlin home roughly 8kms away. The Hoffmans were rushed into surgery and are in stable condition, officials said at a news conference. Gov. Tim Walz called the shootings 'an unspeakable tragedy,' and said the incident 'appears to be a politically motivated assassination.' The shootings came at a moment of deep political divisions in the United States, as thousands prepared to take to the streets in protest at the policies of Republican President Donald Trump. The Republican president has drawn criticism from Democrats over his harsh deportation policy, his assault on universities and the media and a perceived flouting of limits on executive power as he pushes his agenda. 'At this precipice moment we're on, this tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us,' Walz said. 'The democracy and the debates in the halls of Congress, in state houses, in school boards, is a way to settle our differences peacefully and move society to a better place. The suspect is still on the run, despite making contact with police in the aftermath of the Hortman double homicide, according to Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley. Officers dispatched to Hortman's home as other units investigated the Hoffman shooting discovered a car outfitted with flashing lights to look like an SUV squad car. 'When they arrived at Melissa's house, they noticed that there was a police vehicle in the driveway with the emergency lights on and what appeared to be a police officer at the door coming out of the house,' Mr Bruley said, adding that the suspect was wearing a vest, a badge and other equipment, such as a Taser, 'very similar to mine.' 'When our officers confronted him, the individual immediately fired upon the officers, who exchanged gunfire, and the suspect retreated back into the home,' he continued. 'It was not a real police officer. This is someone that clearly had been impersonating a police officer who uses the trust of this badge and this uniform to manipulate their way into the home.' Gunfire was exchanged, but the suspect escaped on foot. Mark Hortman was alive when Brooklyn Park police entered the home, but he died as they attempted to deliver lifesaving measures. Melissa Hortman was declared dead at the scene. As the mayhem unfolded, first responders rushed the Hoffmans to a nearby hospital. The couple had each been pumped with multiple bullets, but survived the attack. A manhunt is on for the suspect, who was wearing black body armour over a blue shirt and blue pants. Cops ordered a shelter-in-place for the 4km radius surrounding the Edinburgh Golf Course near Melissa Hortman's home. 'Police are looking for a suspect in multiple targeted shootings who is armed and dangerous,' Brooklyn Park Police said in an emergency alert sent to residents at 5:30am. 'Suspect is white male, brown hair, wearing black body armour over blue shirt and blue pants and may misrepresent himself as law enforcement.'
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Minnesota lawmaker shot dead, another wounded in targeted attack
A gunman shot two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota early Saturday, killing one and her husband and wounding the other, in what the northern US state's governor said were "politically motivated" attacks. The shootings came at a moment of deep political divisions in the United States, as thousands prepared to take to the streets in protest at the policies of Republican President Donald Trump. The suspected assailant was still at large, officials said, with a massive manhunt underway. US President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called "horrific violence" and said the perpetrators would be prosecuted to "the fullest extent of the law." State representative Melissa Hortman -- the former speaker -- and her husband Mark were killed at their home near Minneapolis, Governor Tim Walz told a press conference. State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded, the governor said, his voice breaking with emotion. He said officials remained "cautiously optimistic" they would recover. "This was an act of targeted political violence," Walz told reporters. "Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don't settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint." Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Hoffman and his wife were shot first, and as police investigated, Hortman and her husband were shot about 90 minutes later. The suspected gunman was able to escape during an exchange of gunfire with officers near Hortman's residence, Evans told reporters. "We're actively searching for that individual right now," he said. In both cases, authorities believe the assailant was impersonating a law enforcement officer, ABC News reported, quoting a source familiar with the investigation. Police are looking for a white man with brown hair, wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants, local TV station KSTP said. The United States has been deeply divided since Trump returned to the White House in January. The Republican president has drawn criticism from Democrats over his harsh deportation policy, his assault on universities and the media and a perceived flouting of limits on executive power as he pushes his agenda. "At this precipice moment we're on, this tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us," Walz said. "The democracy and the debates in the halls of Congress, in state houses, in school boards, is a way to settle our differences peacefully and move society to a better place."
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
Manhunt after two US politicians targeted in their homes by gunman
A manhunt is underway after two US state politicians were shot in their homes, one fatally, in pre-dawn attacks. Authorities have asked residents of two Minneapolis suburbs to stay inside as they searched for the suspect, who allegedly posed as a police officer and shot two Democrats, state senator John Hoffman and state House representative Melissa Hortman. Ms Hortman and her husband were both killed. Mr Hoffman and his wife were both injured after being shot multiple times, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said. Mr Walz said in a post on X that he was "briefed this morning on an ongoing situation involving targeted shootings in Champlin and Brooklyn Park. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement are on the scene". Amy Klobuchar, one of Minnesota's Democratic US senators, condemned the "stunning act of violence" in a post on X, saying her prayers "are with the Hortman and Hoffman families. Both legislators are close friends and devoted to their families and public service". Mr Walz said he had activated Minnesota's Emergency Operations Center and was providing the police in the two suburbs "the full resources" of the state. Reuters/ABC
