President Barack Obama's national security advisor says Iran has confirmed it is holding three Americans who are believed to have strayed into Iranian territory while hiking in northern Iraq.
美国总统奥巴马的国家安全顾问说，伊朗证实他们扣押了三名美国人。这三人据信是在伊拉克北部徒步旅行时迷了路而进入伊朗境内的。
Retired General Jim Jones says the Iranian government has cleared up any doubts about the location of three missing Americans.
国家安全顾问、退役将军吉姆.琼斯说，伊朗政府已经澄清了有关三名失踪美国人现在在何处的疑问。
"The government has officially acknowledged that they have them in their custody," Jones said. "As of this morning, we do have that confirmation."
他说：“伊朗政府正式承认这三名美国人在他们的扣押之下。今天早上，我们确实得到了伊朗方面的证实。”
Jones was speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.
琼斯是在全国广播公司“会见新闻界”节目中作上述表述的。
The United States has no diplomatic relations with Iran. In recent days, Swiss and Iraqi officials have asked about the three Americans on Washington's behalf.
美国与伊朗没有外交关系。近几天来，瑞士和伊拉克官员代表华盛顿向伊朗询问了这三名美国人的情况。
News reports identify them as two males and a female who did writing and environmental work.
新闻报导说，在这三名美国人中，有两名男子，一名女子，他们从事写作和环境保护工作。
Iranian state television has described the detainees as spies, a charge Jones rejected.
伊朗官方电视台将这三人说成是间谍，琼斯否认这一指控。
"We have sent strong messages that we would like these three young people released as soon as possible," Jones said. "These are innocent people. We want their families reunited."
“我们已经发出讯息，强烈要求伊朗尽快释放这三位年轻人，他们是无辜的，我们希望他们能与家人团聚。”
Regarding Iran's nuclear program, Jones was asked if the Obama administration would engage in dialogue with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad following Iran's disputed presidential vote and subsequent protests and unrest.
有关伊朗核计划问题，记者问琼斯，伊朗的总统选举引起了争议，选后发生了抗议和暴乱，奥巴马政府是否准备与伊朗总统艾哈迈迪内贾德进行对话。
"He is the figure of authority that we have to deal with. But it is clear there are major events going on inside Iran that have to do with the [disputed presidential] election," Jones said. "But we have to deal with the figures of authority that are in position."
“他是伊朗的权威人物，我们必须跟他打交道。但很显然，伊朗国内正在发生重大事件，这些事肯定和总统选举有关。但我们必须与伊朗当权的人物打交道。”
On another matter, Jones said the United States is nearly certain that an American missile strike in Pakistan last week killed the top-ranked Taliban leader in the country, and that a leadership struggle has since emerged within the militant group.
另外，琼斯说，美国几乎可以肯定，美军上个星期在巴基斯坦发射的导弹，炸死了塔利班在巴基斯坦的高级头目，之后塔利班内部发生了领导权之争。 |