On April 1, a sudden airstrike bombed Iran's embassy in Syria in all its parts, and it was Israel that fired it. Usually, it is rare for Iran to be slapped on the left side of the face and still have to resist and not fight back. But this time, instead of fighting back as quickly as expected, Iran was unusually silent, which makes one wonder if they are holding back a bigger drama.
A week has passed, and the entire Middle East is nervously awaiting Iran's response. However, Iran has put on the appearance of a "great general", but there has been no movement. This can't help but remind people of last year, when some of Iran's senior generals were killed in various attacks, and then again, at that time, Iran only talked about not practicing, shouting for revenge, but never saw real swords.
Just when everyone was speculating about whether Iran would be able to endure it, a small episode occurred. Just days after the strike, Iranian Defense Ministry officials flew en masse from the capital, Tehran, to Isfahan to attend the funeral of a general. The general was no ordinary man, and he was the highest-ranking of the seven Revolutionary Guard commanders killed in the attack.
The funeral site in Isfahan is no ordinary city, and it also hides a big secret in Iran - the underground military base "Eagle 44" exposed last year. The base seems to have come out of a science fiction movie, built under a huge mountain, surrounded by iron walls and so impregnable that it is said that not even a single hair-piercing bullet can hurt it.
This makes people wonder if Iran is secretly preparing some big moves, and whether this trip to the bunker by the top military leaders is to avoid a possible more violent counterattack by Israel?
But at the end of the day, this doesn't seem to be the case. Iran and its allies, the Houthis, have always made "small moves" at sea and on land, but they are surprisingly quiet. Even the oil tankers at sea did not see the Houthis to intercept them. The entire "arc of resistance" is in a state of silence, as if it is afraid that the first sound will upset this peaceful balance.
Could it be that the sudden change in the situation in the Middle East is just a mirage, a false alarm? Or is Iran really brewing an earth-shaking counterattack? This state of silence does not bode well for the Middle East, which is good at navigating the flames of war and politics. We all know that before a storm comes, there is always an extraordinary calm.
A closer look at Iran's actions may reveal some clues. The collective appearance of Iranian high-ranking officials in Isfahan is not only an ancient cultural city of Iran, but also a military center at its core. Is this collective presence the final deployment for a certain military operation, or is it just to see off the senior general? At such a sensitive moment, every small action can be the fuse of future turmoil.
While all eyes are on Iran's possible military action, Iran is like a cat and mouse. Analysts speculate that Iran may be waiting for the perfect moment to surprise Israel and the world watching the game with a hard response.
But Iran's government and military have remained silent to the outside world, allowing speculation and anxiety to heat up. The tension in this silence makes people can't help but be full of anticipation and anxiety about the coming day. Under the Middle East sky, the top brass of the Iranian army has quietly entered the bunker, and we are all waiting for that moment when the timer will reset to zero.