2007年VOA标准英语-Growing Iranian Regional Influence Worries Saud

By Gary Thomas
Washingotn
23 February 2007

Before the U.S. toppled Saddam Hussein, Iraq had been something of a counterweight to Iranian power in the Middle East. Now with Saddam gone, Iranian political influence has been expanding, not just in Iraq, but in the region. As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, Saudi Arabia is not happy about the shift in what had been a delicate balance of power.

commemorating1 Army Day" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070522/1351460.jpg" width="150" vspace="2" border="0" />

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, reviews army missiles during parade commemorating Army Day (file photo)

Empowering Iran was not one of aims of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, analysts² say, it has become one of its unintended consequences.

In an interview with a pro-Saudi group, Flynt Leverett, former senior director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council, said it has been especially worrisome for Saudi Arabia.

"I think that the Iraq war has been almost disastrous³ from a Saudi perspective," he said. "It has completely upset the balance of power in the Gulf⁴, enabled Iran's rise, created a dynamic in post-Saddam Iraq where the most powerful political forces are Islamist Shia with ties to Iran."

Chas Freeman, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, says Iran's growing influence is not just among the Shi'ite factions⁵ in Iraq, but extends to other pressure points in the region.

He said, "Friends of Iran are now in power in Baghdad, Hezbollah has become the dominant⁶ political force in Lebanon, and Western attempts to isolate⁷ Hamas and the government it runs in Palestine have forced that government and Hamas into the arms of the Iranians."

"So on every level, Iran has seen its influence in the region enhanced. And this is naturally disturbing to other countries in the region, which see it as producing a serious imbalance in power," he added.

The rivalry⁹ is rooted in both religion and politics. Saudi Arabia is a Sunni Muslim Arab state controlled by a royal family. Iran is a country of Persian Shi'ite Muslims that has been under the theocratic¹⁰ rule of Islamic clerics since 1979. Both are major oil-producing nations.

Secular¹¹ Iraq, under the autocratic thumb of Saddam Hussein, was kind of a counterweight that kept regional power in check. Analysts say Saudi Arabia was quite content to see Iran and Iraq slug it out in a bloody¹² war from 1980 to 1988 in which thousands died but no one emerged the clear victor.

Afshin Molavi, a fellow at the New America Foundation, says both Iran and Saudi Arabia harbor ambitions to be leaders in the Islamic world.

"In many ways, Saudi Arabia views itself as a pan-Islamic power, it doesn't view itself only as a Sunni power," he said. "And, interestingly, Iran is sometimes characterized as the vanguard of the Shia of the region, but Iran also likes to think of itself as a pan-Islamic power. So in some ways, both of these countries are vying¹³ for the mantle¹⁴ of leadership in the Muslim world."

Saudi Arabia has had a security relationship with the United States since the 1979 Iranian revolution.

George Friedman, chief executive officer of the private intelligence company, Stratfor, says there is an upside [something positive] for the U.S. in the growth of Iranian influence.

He said, "The United States is not unhappy to see Iran herding¹⁵ Saudi Arabia back into a position of dependency on the United States. The United States is happy to calm their fears. The United States is also happy to see them afraid again of the Iranians."

"So one of the interests Saudi Arabia now has is to protect it [the U.S.] from Iranian power. One of the interests the Americans have is to protect the Saudis from Iranian power. And therein lies a marriage, and diplomatic marriages have been based from worse," he continued.

There are signs that both countries recognize that the sectarian fighting in Iraq has the potential to erupt into a wider regional or even a global pan-Islamic conflict.

Prince Bandar bin⁸ Sultan, who was the Saudi ambassador to Washington, has recently held three meetings with Ali Larijani, national security adviser¹⁶ to Iranian Supreme¹⁷ Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has also met with officials in Russia and the United States.

But Chas Freeman says the Arab world does not share the U.S. level of concern about Iran's alleged¹⁸ bid to build nuclear weapons.

"In the broader Arab world and within Saudi Arabia, concern about Iranian nuclear weapons is quite muted. That is a matter of extraordinary concern in Israel and, by extension, in the United States. It's not the main item of concern to the Saudis. They're concerned about Iranian political influence and the ability of Iran to influence, if not control, events in the region," said Freeman.

Nevertheless, analysts say, Western governments are concerned that if Iran gets nuclear weapons capability¹⁹, it could set off a Middle East arms race in which Saudi Arabia and perhaps Egypt try to get nuclear weapons themselves. Israel is already believed to be a nuclear power, although it has never publicly admitted it.

1 commemorating   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements. 他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The post office issued a series commemorating famous American entertainers. 邮局发行了一个纪念美国著名演艺人员的系列邮票。 来自互联网

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

6 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

7 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

8 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

9 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

10 theocratic   

adj.神权的，神权政治的

参考例句：

• The priest caste wields considerable power in this rigidly theocratic society. 祭司阶层(priestcaste)在这个严格的神权社会中掌握着相当大的权力。 来自互联网
• The heartland of Islam, by contrast, is theocratic. 相反，伊斯兰教的核心地带则是神权政治。 来自互联网

11 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

12 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

13 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

14 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

15 herding   

中畜群

参考例句：

• The little boy is herding the cattle. 这个小男孩在放牛。
• They have been herding cattle on the tableland for generations. 他们世世代代在这高原上放牧。

16 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

17 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。

18 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

19 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。