2006年VOA标准英语-Experts Say UN Security Council May Consid

By Andre de Nesnera
Washington
11 April 2006
 

Iranian girl holds up a poster of Iran's president Mahmoud Ahamadinejad, during a gathering¹, April. 11, 2006  
  
Iran has announced that it has successfully enriched uranium at its facility in the central town of Natanz, a process that could either be used for civilian² purposes or to build nuclear weapons. VOA Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at what the international community can do to curtail³ Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions.

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This is the latest development in an escalating⁴ confrontation⁵ between many Western nations and Iran over Tehran's nuclear weapons ambitions. The United States and Europe believe Tehran is seeking to develop a nuclear arsenal⁶. But Iran's government says its program is only aimed at producing fuel for peaceful, civilian purposes. The announcement that Iran has successfully enriched uranium was made in Tehran by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called it a "historic moment."

Last month, the United Nations Security Council urged Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities and asked Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, to report back to the Council on April 28.

Experts say Iran's latest move may force the U.N. Security Council to discuss harsher measures against Tehran, such as sanctions. But they also point out that two Council members with veto power, China and Russia, have expressed their opposition⁷ to sanctions.

Charles Kupchan, former member of the U.S. National Security Council in the first Clinton administration, now with the Council on Foreign Relations, says the world body could first consider limited sanctions. "The talk thus far has been more about 'smart sanctions', sanctions that affect the leadership and not the broader Iranian population. It is the same sort of set of policy initiatives that has been talked about vis-à-vis Belarus, where a recent election was apparently⁸ stolen by [Alexander] Lukashenko, freezing the assets of leaders, not letting them travel by not giving them visas. These are the sorts of things that may, in the early stages, be implemented⁹ before attempting to garner¹⁰ support for a broader economic embargo¹¹ of Iran," he said.

However, experts say that the only way sanctions would be effective is if there is strong support from the international community.

Carne Ross, a former British diplomat¹², a member of Britain's delegation¹³ to the United Nations Security Council (1998 - 2000) who worked on the issue of sanctions against Iraq, says a sanctions regime requires a long-term, patient and detailed¹⁴ effort to succeed.

"It is very difficult to control trade or indeed financial flows or the visits of senior government officials or flights.The world is a complex place and there are many flows going into and out of countries. And it is very, very difficult to monitor, police, and control those flows. And if you are going to try to, you are going to have to devote an enormous amount of effort to succeed. And that effort involves setting up monitoring bodies, appointing large numbers of officials to work on it, having monitoring on borders. But also a very painstaking¹⁵ and diligent¹⁶ effort to encourage the neighbors of the target state and other actors involved to observe the sanctions regime that you have imposed," he said.

In short, says Ross, it is a great deal of work and it is unclear whether the international community is ready for it.

Daryl Kimball, head of the Arms Control Association, an independent research organization, says the United States, a strong advocate of sanctions, cannot push ahead with this approach any faster than the Security Council is willing to go. "The next step is not clear. If the United States pushes for stronger actions against Iran, these targeted political and economic sanctions, and the Russians and the Chinese resist, then it is quite possible that the Security Council will be deadlocked¹⁷. They will not be able to take any action. At the same time, that kind of scenario¹⁸ might lead some in the United States to argue that the Bush administration should take actions on its own. So we are moving in a very delicate phase here," he said.

Experts say the next step is for the Security Council to meet and decide what measures to undertake in order to force Iran to end its uranium enrichment program. But they say agreeing to those measures may be difficult.

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 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。

3 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

4 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

5 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

6 arsenal   

n.兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Even the workers at the arsenal have got a secret organization.兵工厂工人暗中也有组织。
• We must be the great arsenal of democracy.我们必须成为民主的大军火库。

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 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。

9 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

10 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

11 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

12 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

13 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

14 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

15 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

16 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

17 deadlocked   

陷入僵局的；僵持不下的

参考例句：

• The plan deadlocked over the funds. 这个计划由于经费问题而搁浅了。
• The meeting deadlocked over the wage issue. 会议因工资问题而停顿下来。

18 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。