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The pizza shop next to the Pentagon is unusually busy, but the bar is empty. Will the United States take major actions to deal with the situation in the Middle East?

A phenomenon that seems unimportant to many people has been a very reliable geopolitical "indicator" over the past 40 years -Before disasters, wars, and important political and military events, employees of U.S. government agencies such as the White House and the Pentagon will significantly increase their demand for pizza from surrounding restaurants.

Just last Friday night, this happened at the pizza shop next to the Pentagon.Pizza orders surged, but surrounding bars were empty.Thus, followers of this “indicator” believe that the “war merchants” and “protectors of American interests” were still hard at work last Friday night.

The phenomenon was discovered by Frank Meeks, owner of a Domino's Pizza franchise in Washington, D.C., as pizza orders increase before any major announcement from the White House.Economists call it the "pizza table."Although this "indicator" may not be scientific and is sometimes used for "pranks", previous cases have proven that it is very effective, and some even believe that its accuracy rate is 100%.

Soviet intelligence allegedly used it to monitor the movements of CIA employees as they worked overtime, often responding to crises, as intelligence and national security expert Mark Lowenthal described in his book Intelligence: The Secrets of Politics.

The surge in the "pizza meter" comes as the United States tries to use diplomacy to prevent tensions between Iran and Israel from escalating and sparking a wider conflict in the Middle East.

US media reported that the Pentagon said in a phone call with Israeli Defense Minister Galant that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated Washington's support for Israel's security and its "right to self-defense against threats from Iran, Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Houthis and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel was already engaged in a "multi-front war" with Iran and its proxies and was prepared for any scenario, while Defense Minister Galant said: "If they dare to attack us, they will pay a heavy price."

The White House said that U.S. President Biden will meet with his national security team on Monday to discuss "developments in the Middle East" as the United States grows concerned about Iran's retaliation against Israel and has deployed more military forces, including fighter jets and warships, to the region. The White House also said that Biden will also speak with King Abdullah II of Jordan. All these measures indicate that the United States will launch a new round of diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.

Last week, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran, a day after an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, killed Hezbollah's top military commander Fuad Shukur. Both groups are allegedly backed by Iran, which has vowed to retaliate.