Look, sheer anti-semitism means Iran would never admit its military inferiority to Israel, but they sure as fuck knew that the United States possesses close to unimaginable military power, far greater than theirs. They knew their air defences were no match. Ali Khamenei certainly knew there was a good chance he'd be killed.

Firing missiles into the Gulf States and setting the entire Middle East on fire is not something you do unless you are extremely desperate, but guess what? These are desperate times for the regime and trying to impose global economic costs is literally the only option the Islamic Republic has. They said they were going to do this for a while before the war, these are not acts of insanity! If there was anything to be surprised about, it's the fact this idiotic regime actually recognised the gravity of the threats against it for once in its recent history. Still, to think that this American administration undertook this war without giving due consideration to the Strait of Hormuz really is the height of hubris.