Iranian Officials Insist on Peaceful Aim of Nuclear Program

Iranian Officials Insist on Peaceful Aim of Nuclear Program

 

Kerry Sheridan

 

One day before U.N. discussions about Iran's nuclear program open in Vienna, senior Iranian officials are repeating statements that their nuclear efforts are peaceful. They are calling for the International Atomic Energy Agency to close its 13-month investigation¹ into Iran's nuclear activities. The head of Iran's security council, Hassan Rohani, says Iran should be recognized as a country that has a nuclear program and enriches uranium, but purely² for peaceful purposes.

 

Mr. Rohani says Iran has taken steps to build confidence among members of the international community. He says it is time for Iran to be recognized as a member of the atomic club.

 

However Iran has been under a cloud since inspectors³ discovered it had components⁴ that could be used for building weapons. They also found traces of radioactive elements that Iran did not disclose when it opened its nuclear program to international inspectors last year.

 

U.S. officials suspect Iran is hiding a program to build nuclear weapons.

 

Analyst⁵ Mohamed Abdel Salem, an expert on nuclear issues at Cairo's Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, says Iran is trying to do some last-minute damage control.

 

He says Iran expects that the U.N. nuclear agency could take drastic steps, and is trying to highlight its cooperation.

 

But Mr. Salem says the matter is not likely to result in Security Council sanctions against Iran. He says neither the United States nor Iran wants to escalate⁶ tensions in the region.

 

The IAEA is scheduled to begin several days of talks on Monday about nuclear issues in Iran, and also in Libya and Pakistan.

 

 

注释：

U.N.  abbr. United Nations  联合国

Vienna [vi5enE] n. 维也纳（奥地利首都）

Iranian [i5reinjEn] adj.　伊朗的

International Atomic Energy Agency （IAEA ）国际原子能组织

Iran's security council  伊朗安全委员会

Hassan Rohani  哈桑·鲁哈尼，伊朗最高国家安全委员会负责人

uranium [juE5reiniEm] n. 铀

atomic club  核俱乐部

radioactive [5reidiEu5Aktiv] adj. 放射性的，有辐射能的

disclose [dis5klEuz] vt. 揭露，透露

drastic [5drAstik] adj. 激烈的

sanction [5sANkFEn] n. 批准，认可

escalate [5eskEleit] vt. 使逐步上升

Libya [5libiE] n. 利比亚（北非国家）

Pakistan [7pB:kis5tB:n] n. 巴基斯坦（南亚国家）

 

1 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

2 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

3 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》

4 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 escalate   

v.(使)逐步增长(或发展)，(使)逐步升级

参考例句：

• It would tempt Israel's neighbors to escalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other to escalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。