Iran dealt Washington a fresh blow, and without a single shot fired. Instead of handing over its enriched uranium, as Trump demands, Tehran buried it - literally. In recent weeks Iran has collapsed tunnels and laid mines at the entrances to the storage sites in the nuclear complex near Isfahan, making access to the material incomparably harder and more dangerous.

The stakes aren't small. We're talking about around half a ton of high-grade uranium, enriched to a level close to what's needed to build a bomb. Trump keeps repeating that securing that material is a priority in negotiations to end the conflict and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Now that condition looks all but impossible to meet.

The irony is sharp. As early as mid-May, the U.S. military prepared a ground operation to seize the material, but judged it too risky. Some sources suggest that Trump's own public statements about how he plans to "take" the uranium may have prompted Iran to step up its protection. When you announce out loud what you intend to grab, it's no surprise the opponent buries it.

Experts warn of a new trap. Scott Roecker, a former director for nuclear material removal, says Iran can now claim that part of the uranium is impossible to extract - and no one could be entirely sure that's not true. In other words, the buried uranium becomes both a physical and a bargaining weapon.

For the Balkans, perched on the edge of every energy and security turbulence, this is no abstraction. A closed Strait of Hormuz means pricier oil, and pricier oil means a pricier life - from Skopje to every village. The question isn't only whether Iran is bluffing, but how long the world will play poker with half a ton of bomb material on the table.