VOA慢速英语2018--以色列袭击叙利亚境内的伊朗目标

Israel Hits Iranian Targets inside Syria

Israel said Thursday its fighter planes struck dozens of Iranian military targets inside of Syria overnight. The move answered rockets attacks by Iranian forces on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The Israeli military said its airstrikes centered on intelligence bases, weapons storage and logistics centers. Officials said the planes also destroyed several Syrian air defense¹ systems.

They warned Israel would not let “the Iranian threat establish itself in Syria.” And, Israeli officials said Syria’s government will be held responsible for “everything happening in its territory.”

In a statement, officials at the White House said the U.S. strongly supported Israel’s “right to act in self-defense.” They condemned² the missile attacks by Iranian Forces on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Israel’s defense minister, Avigdor Lieberman, told a security conference that Israel struck “almost all the Iranian infrastructure³ in Syria.” He added that he hoped Israel’s action had ended the conflict and “everyone understood.”

“We will not let Iran turn Syria into a forward base against Israel,” he said.

The strikes were one of the country’s largest air operations in years across Syrian land. They were also the most aggressive attack yet against Iran.

The Syrian military said the attacks killed three people and wounded two.

The Syrian Observatory⁴ for Human Rights, based in London, watches the civil war in Syria. It said the attacks by Israel killed 23 fighters, including five Syrian soldiers. It was not clear if any of the dead included Iranians.

Iran is a Syrian ally, and its military has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad.

Russia, another Assad supporter, called for both Israel and Iran to show restraint. French President Emmanuel Macron called for the two sides to pull back from the conflict.

Syria’s state-run SANA news agency reported Israeli airstrikes hitting air defense positions, radar⁵ stations and an ammunition⁶ storage area. SANA also said anti-aircraft systems were able to shoot down dozens of Israeli missiles.

Israel blamed Iran’s Al Quds force for firing missiles targeting Israeli military positions in the Golan Heights. Israeli officials said no damage and no injuries or deaths were reported.

In the past, Israel has rarely commented on its military activity in Syria, where it is believed to have made over 100 airstrikes against Iranian forces.

Israel has been on high alert in the past few days. The concern comes after Iran threatened retaliation⁷ for airstrikes on its military positions inside Syria last month. Those strikes killed at least seven Iranians.

Iran blames Israel for those strikes. Israel has not confirmed or denied the attacks.

Israeli intelligence has said it was prepared for possible Iranian action after President Donald Trump⁸ pulled the United States out of the nuclear agreement with Iran.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

dozen – n. twelve

logistics – adj. the things that must be done to plan and organize a complicated activity or event that involves many people

infrastructure - n. the basic roads, buildings and bridges that a country needs to function

alert – n. an alarm or signal

retaliation – n. getting revenge against someone or something

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

5 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

6 ammunition   

n.军火，弹药

参考例句：

• A few of the jeeps had run out of ammunition.几辆吉普车上的弹药已经用光了。
• They have expended all their ammunition.他们把弹药用光。

7 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 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。