Around three in the morning, Revolution Square in Tehran was packed. Thousands of people, with banners and pictures of the religious leader, walked into the night with messages of victory over the US and Israel. The sound from the square - chants of religious and political messages - was carried on social media and became the main news in the Middle East. Iran did not break under two months of bombing - now it quietly celebrates.

For those who haven't followed the storyline: two months ago America and Israel began strikes against Iran. After the 7 April ceasefire, Tehran reportedly accepted marathon negotiations, but not a single round succeeded. Now the White House is declaring that the war „is over" - but the Iranian army did not withdraw, did not give up anything, and did not admit defeat. Seen from Tehran, that is a victory.

Revolution Square has a special significance - it is the same place where in 1979 the Iranian Revolution was proclaimed. Since then, it is the symbolic space where the regime shows its successes - anniversaries, mobilisations, demonstrations against America. When people gather there at night with chanting, it isn't a „spontaneous gathering". It is a coordinated operation for a message.

The message is clear. Iran survived the first wave. It survived strikes that in the 90s might well have toppled the state. It survived sanctions, a maritime blockade, and now - two years in a war that the media will not give another cycle of attention. And Tehran knows: in the West, after two months without an oil ring and with American bases torn open, the whole story turns into old news. Everyone gets tired. And that is precisely Iran's strategy.

For the Balkans, this image has a familiar tone. When people pour onto a square to celebrate something the West insists did not happen, we know how to read that. It is the „living period" of waiting for the West to grow tired - and when it does, everyone accepts the quiet status quo. Iran is now waiting for exactly that. Unlike in the 90s, it now has partners - China, Russia, the Global South - making the same calculation. Tehran is not alone.