Anything Iran says should be taken "with a grain of salt," US Secretary of State said in an interview with WFTV 9 on July 22 while on a work visit to Orlando, Florida, noting that the US is building a coalition that will patrol the Strait of Hormuz.

Pompeo noted that the US doesn't want war with Iran, yet wants it to "stop engaging in terror activities around the world."

"We are working to change the behaviour of the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And we are building out a coalition that will patrol the Strait of Hormuz to keep those shipping lanes, those sea lanes open. There'll be nations from all around the world that participate in that."

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Japan's military scrambled fighter aircraft to intercept Russian and Chinese planes, it said on Tuesday, including an observation jet at which South Korean forces fired warning shots after it entered airspace over an island claimed by both Seoul and Tokyo.

Japan, like South Korea, identified two Chinese H-6 bombers and two Russian TU-95 bombers flying over the strait between the countries.

In addition, there was a Russian A-50 observation plane at which South Korea had fired warning shots after it passed close to the island it controls, known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.

Japan regularly scrambles fighters to intercept Chinese and Russian aircraft that fly close to its territory, with 999 such intercepts in the twelve months that ended on March 31.

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Zelensky wants to end the war in the east. He plans to work for better relations with Russia. His main domestic promise is to end the corruption throughout the government. But the parliament, still under control of the Maidan fascists, opposed him. Zelensky relieved the parliament and called for early elections. ...

Some allege that Zelensky is under influence of the oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. But so far there is little evidence to provide that.

The party which came in second is pro-Russian and won the majority vote in the east. It is controlled by Viktor Medvedchuk. Oliver Stone, in his recent interview with Vladimir Putin, discusses Medvedchuk's position on nationality with the Russian president. Putin rejects Medvedchuk claim that Russians in Ukraine belong to a Ukrainian nation. He sees all Russian people as part of one nationality.

Peter Porosheko and Yulia Tymoshenko lead the parties on the third and fourth place. They are themselves oligarchs. The populist Vakarchuk in the fifth place is backed by billionaire Viktor Pinchuk, the son-in-law of ex-President Leonid Kuchma.
...
Zelensky will likely try to move the country back to a balanced positions between the 'west' and Russia. With the large mandate he got and a secure majority in parliament he should have all the necessary means to achieve that.

But the 'west' is unlikely to let him do that. The U.S. wants to designate the Ukraine as a "major non-NATO ally" and use it against Russia.

Foreign Policy Issues:

• delaying, sabotaging, or rejecting the strategic course for EU and NATO membership; reducing political dialogue and destroying bilateral institutional mechanisms for cooperation with European and Euro-Atlantic partners
• initiating any actions that might contribute to the reduction or lifting of sanctions against the aggressor state by Ukraine's international partners
• attempting to review any actions aimed at supporting international solidarity for Ukraine, restoring our territorial integrity, guaranteeing security and protecting the rights of all persons that have suffered from Russian aggression

...
National Identity: Language, Education, Culture

• attempting to review the language law [i.e. the bans on Russian]
• attempting to review the law on education
• attempting to review the law on de-communization and condemnation of totalitarian crimes of the past
• implementing any actions aimed at undermining or discrediting the Orthodox Church of Ukraine or supporting the Russian Orthodox Church in Ukraine