"It Hit the Mark Again": At 1:28 a.m., Pizza Orders Surged — and the Iran Airstrikes Began
- Input
- 2026-03-03 08:52:12
- Updated
- 2026-03-03 08:52:12
[Financial News] The so-called "Pentagon Pizza Index," known as an informal indicator for predicting military operations by the United States Department of Defense (DoD), has proven accurate once again. When the United States of America (US) launched sudden strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran on the 28th of last month (local time), pizza orders at shops near The Pentagon also surged.
The "Pentagon Pizza Index" is known as an informal gauge of US military operations.
According to the X (formerly Twitter) account "Pentagon Pizza Report (PPR)," which tracks the Pentagon Pizza Index, orders at Pizzato Pizza, a pizzeria near The Pentagon, spiked as of 1:28 a.m. Eastern Time the previous day. This timing coincided with the airstrikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Launched in August 2024, the account uses the "Popular times" feature on Google Maps to monitor whether pizzerias around the DoD are busier than usual. The account also noted on the 27th of last month, the day before the US attacked the Islamic Republic of Iran, that "as of 2:42 p.m. Eastern Time, several pizza places near The Pentagon are seeing high order volumes."
The Pentagon Pizza Index refers to the correlation between US national emergencies or large-scale military operations and pizza orders at restaurants near the DoD. The idea is that when evening pizza orders around The Pentagon suddenly increase, it may indicate that defense officials are working late and ordering delivery. In other words, overtime at The Pentagon can be a sign that military operations somewhere in the world are imminent or already under way.
On the day the Gulf War broke out in 1990, the CIA reportedly ordered 21 pizzas in one night.
The Pentagon Pizza Index was also said to have hit the mark on June 12 last year, just before Israel launched large-scale airstrikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran. A few hours before news of the strikes broke, activity surged at four pizzerias near The Pentagon, which analysts took as a sign that US military leaders were staying late at the DoD to monitor the allied Israeli operation.
The history of the "Pentagon Pizza Index" is not particularly short. A frequently cited prime example is August 1, 1990, when Iraqi forces invaded the State of Kuwait and the Gulf War began. On that night, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reportedly ordered 21 pizzas.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter