By midday, the initial shock had hardened into something darker: the recognition that a handful of words could move armies, rattle alliances, and push nuclear powers toward the edge. Intelligence agencies quietly compared satellite images with the viral claim, weighing scorch marks and seismic blips against the cost of calling a bluff—or confirming a catastrophe. In capitals across the globe, leaders rehearsed statements that might calm their people without looking weak to their rivals.

Behind closed doors at the United Nations, diplomats leaned over maps, tracing flight paths and missile ranges, bargaining over adjectives in emergency resolutions. In Tehran, commanders measured pride against survival, knowing a single retaliatory strike could trigger a chain reaction no one controlled. And in living rooms from Kansas to Karaj, ordinary people refreshed their feeds, waiting to learn whether this day would become a date history never forgets.