Gross miscalculation by Iran led to more deaths? Here's what officials are claiming

Iran has lost a considerable number of lives in recent days amid its ongoing conflict with Israel, but the number could reportedly have been less if they had not made one big miscalculation, as per senior Iranian officials. According to a New York Times report, senior Iranian military officers who were interviewed said that they did not expect Israel to strike back so soon.

They contemplated that Israel would wait for another round of talks that had been scheduled for this coming Sunday in Oman before making another move. However, this judgment error proved to be costly for them, with Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace unit, and his senior staff having to pay the price.

“Officials said that the night of Israel’s attack, senior military commanders did not shelter in safe houses and instead stayed in their own homes, a fateful decision. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace unit, and his senior staff ignored a directive against congregating in one location. They held an emergency war meeting at a military base in Tehran and were killed when Israel struck the base,” the NY Times report read.

In the attack, Israel had reportedly snuffed out Iran's radars and air defenses, along with its access to its arsenal of ballistic missiles. However, what was the most crucial of the lot was the death of top Iranian military officials who were in some of the top rungs of the chain of command.

“Where is our air defense?” and “How can Israel come and attack anything it wants, kill our top commanders, and we are incapable of stopping it?” were some of the texts being exchanged among senior Iranian military officials, as reported by the NY Times, in the aftermaths of Israel's sudden onslaught.