The very serious and unprecedented statements made by Mr. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, yesterday, during his reception of a group of Iranian youth who won medals at the World Olympics, give the impression that Iran has moved from a phase of defence and strategic patience to a phase of confrontation with the United States and the occupying state of Israel. Mr. Khamenei, in the most severe attack on President Donald Trump, said, "Who are you to decide whether Iran should have a nuclear industry or not..." And what is your relationship with our region? This is an extreme display of arrogance and bullying. This arrogance may work in some countries, but thankfully, it won't affect Iranians. Imam Khamenei's mockery of President Trump and his lies reached its peak, especially the claim that he is fighting terrorism and seeking peace, when he said to him, "Is the martyrdom of more than 20,000 children and infants in the Gaza Strip fighting terrorism, and were these, along with 50,000 of their families, terrorists?" He added, "The terrorist is America, which spreads wars and death in the Middle East; otherwise, why are there American military bases there?"The importance of these statements lies in their timing and being made by the highest decision-maker in Iran, who determines war and peace in his country, namely Ayatollah Khamenei. These statements came at the same time as General Ali Larijani, the head of the Iranian National Security Council, announced that Iran has ended its cooperation agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency in a strong response to the West, especially the United States, for imposing new economic sanctions on Iran after the nuclear agreement from September 2015 was formally declared expired, a deal that the first Trump administration cancelled in 2017.The fact is that the highest Iranian political leadership has come to a firm conviction that the second and "corrected" version of the failed American-Israeli dual aggression in June of last year is very imminent. Therefore, they decided to declare a state of emergency and start mobilising Iranian public opinion.A senior Western military expert, closely following the Iranian file and just returning from Tehran, confirmed in a private meeting with a minimal group of journalists that he is firmly convinced that Iran might initiate a war against Israel and American bases in the region and will not wait for the American-Israeli dual aggression. He stated that Iran has developed its defensive and aerial capabilities with assistance from China and Russia, which were its weak points in previous aggressions.What confirms this? The expert states that Mr Khamenei spoke explicitly about this issue during his meeting with Iranian athletes when he focused on several points in messages directed first to the Iranian interior and second to the Israeli-American duo:The first: The dual aggression did not achieve its goals in destroying Iranian nuclear facilities, and he responded to the American bragging through Trump about this destruction by saying, "Well, keep dreaming."The second point is a reminder of the crushing blow dealt by Iranian forces to the entity during the 12-day war, which left the adversaries in despair. They assert that the Zionists were surprised by this strike and did not expect the Iranian missile to penetrate their defensive systems and reach their sensitive centres, destroying them in the heart of Tel Aviv.The third: The missiles are purely Iranian-made and continuously evolving. Many Western military analyses have indicated that Iran possesses more than 19 domestically manufactured submarines (Israel has 7 submarines), which cannot be detected, and they may play a significant role in the next war if it ignites.Iran understands that any Israeli-American dual aggression will not be limited but rather more destructive, and it has begun to formulate its military strategies based on this new conviction. The fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the aggressive military escalation against "Hezbollah" in Lebanon are aimed at preparing for a potential expanded aggression against Iran. Recently, Israeli media have been leaking old yet renewed statements from retired military leaders, claiming that Iran is the head of the octopus in the region and that efforts should be directed toward it rather than just striking its arms. The announcement by General Larijani today to cancel the cooperation agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency may be a precursor to the production of nuclear weapons and the elimination of all previous commitments. Perhaps the statements by General Shamkhani, Larijani's predecessor, who is recovering from an Israeli assassination attempt in the recent attack, in which he expressed regret for not developing nuclear weapons when he was in power, confirm this direction. Mr. Khamenei's strong statement that "American arrogance may succeed with some countries (referring to some Arabs) but will have no impact on the Iranian people" reveals much and paves the way for what is to come, which will be different from all that has preceded it. And God knows best.