美国国家公共电台 NPR Talks in Vienna aim to revive the deal that put limits on Iran's nuclear program

Talks in Vienna aim to revive the deal that put limits on Iran's nuclear program

Transcript¹

Negotiators from Iran, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China are working in Vienna to restore the Iran nuclear agreement. Participants say they are closer than ever to reaching a deal.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

There are more signs that negotiators want to wrap up the Iran nuclear talks soon, maybe by the middle of March or even sooner. There are the talks in Vienna to revive the agreement that put limits on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. Now, that deal unraveled when the Trump² administration reimposed sanctions and Iran ramped³ up its program in response. NPR's Peter Kenyon joins us now from Istanbul to discuss it. Peter, so where do talks stand? What's left to work out here?

PETER KENYON, BYLINE⁴: Well, Iran's president, Ebrahim Raisi, on a visit to Qatar just spoke⁵ about significant progress in Vienna. But as usual, some of the tougher issues were left until the last part of the talks to work out. Tehran, for instance, wants time to verify that all major sanctions have been completely lifted. It also wants guarantees that the U.S. won't pull out again, as it did in 2018. The U.S. has said guarantees aren't really possible.

The Iranian foreign minister, Amir-Abdollahian, said over the weekend it's time for world powers to show some political will, to reach an agreement that respects Tehran's red lines. He also gave an interview to an Iranian news outlet⁶ in which he discussed the talks. Here's a bit of what he said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HOSSEIN AMIRABDOLLAHIAN: (Non-English language spoken).

KENYON: He's saying the Western negotiators have to show real flexibility⁷ because it's their response to the Iranian proposals that he says will determine, quote, "if the talks will come to fruition" within a few days or a few weeks. Just a Russian envoy⁸, meanwhile, said it could be done by the end of this month. So we're really going to have to wait and see what the next few days bring.

MARTINEZ: Yeah, absolutely. And the Iranian government is firmly in the hands of hard-liners at really every level. And, of course, the Supreme⁹ Leader has the final say. So why is this government apparently¹⁰ willing to resurrect the nuclear agreement?

KENYON: Well, money's a big part of it. The agreement would mean an influx¹¹ of funds to Tehran. And this, you might recall, was one of the major complaints voiced by critics years ago when this happened the first time, that Iran would be getting a lot of cash. It could flow to the Revolutionary Guard Corps¹², the intelligence, the military sectors¹³ or proxy¹⁴ militias¹⁵ like Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon or Iran-backed militias in Iraq. In other words, Iran's malign¹⁶ behavior, as the critics call it, could be enhanced.

But for ordinary Iranians, there's a whole nother focus. The semblance¹⁷ of a normal economy is desperately¹⁸ wanted there. They're hoping that they can see a little more income in their lives.

MARTINEZ: And what would the prospect¹⁹ of the U.S. returning to the agreement mean in Washington?

KENYON: Well, there, it would be a political and foreign policy win for President Joe Biden, first. It would be cheered by supporters of international diplomacy²⁰. But it's also likely to spark another backlash from conservatives. Republicans have been sounding like they're very much looking forward to using a restored nuclear deal as a cudgel against Democrats²¹, especially with the 2024 elections coming up.

MARTINEZ: So, Peter, what do you see as the most important issue going forward for the Iranian nuclear program?

KENYON: Well, obviously for the U.S. and its allies, ensuring that Iran's nuclear program remains²² civilian²³ and peaceful. That there's no military program is paramount²⁴. One key to that is maintaining access for U.N. inspectors²⁵ to Iranian nuclear sites. Now, since the U.S. violated the deal in 2018, Tehran has, at times, limited or denied access to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. So if that were to continue or worsen, the value of the nuclear deal could be significantly compromised. Beyond that, the Biden administration has expressed some desire to talk about things like Iran's ballistic missile program. And so far, the Raisi government has shown no interest in doing something like that.

MARTINEZ: NPR's Peter Kenyon in Istanbul. Peter, thanks.

KENYON: Thanks, A.

(SOUNDBITE OF NORA VAN ELKEN'S "BOREALIS")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

7 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

8 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

12 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

13 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 proxy   

n.代理权，代表权；（对代理人的）委托书；代理人

参考例句：

• You may appoint a proxy to vote for you.你可以委托他人代你投票。
• We enclose a form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting.我们附上委任年度大会代表的表格。

15 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

16 malign   

adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑

参考例句：

• It was easy to see why the cartoonists regularly portrayed him as a malign cherub.难怪漫画家总是把他画成一个邪恶的小天使。
• She likes to malign innocent persons.她爱诋毁那些清白的人。

17 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

18 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

19 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

20 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

21 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

23 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

24 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

25 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》