2007年VOA标准英语-Iranian-British Standoff Leaves Domestic, Inter

By Gary Thomas
Washington
13 April 2007

 
Iranian state-run Al-Alam television image of detained British sailors, 30 Mar¹. 2007
Iran is embroiled² in controversy³ with the West over issues ranging from Iran's nuclear ambitions to its bid to extend its influence in Iraq and the Middle East.  Yet, even at such a sensitive time, Iran detained 15 British sailors who were on patrol in the Persian Gulf⁴ and held them for nearly two weeks.  Britain said its personnel had been in Iraqi waters, not in Iranian waters as Tehran maintains.  VOA correspondent Gary Thomas looks at some of the questions surrounding the incident and the possible ramifications⁵.

The reasons for the capture of the British naval⁶ personnel in late March, and the subsequent fallout from it, may lie across Iran's western border in Iraq, where analysts⁸ say Iran is seeking to extend its influence, and the U.S. is trying to halt it.

The United States says Iran is training Iraqi insurgents⁹ and arming them with deadly roadside bombs to attack U.S. forces.  Iran denies the charge, dismissing it as propaganda.

President Bush has pledged to halt any cross-border activity. "When we find the networks that are enabling these weapons to end up in Iraq, we will deal with them," said the president.  "If we find agents who are moving these devices into Iraq, we will deal with them."

 
Paul Pillar

So in January, U.S. forces detained five Iranians in the northern city of Irbil.  In a separate incident, an Iranian diplomat¹⁰ was abducted¹¹ by unknown Iraqi gunmen. Former CIA analyst⁷ Paul Piller explains what followed.

"So the Iranians felt like they were getting shoved around with that earlier episode in Iraq, two episodes, really, and they wanted to do some shoving back," explained Piller.  "It would have been riskier¹² to shove directly back against the United States.  So the slightly softer target, if you will, the 'squishier' target but one with whom the message would still be sent [that] 'we're not going to be shoved around,' was the British servicemen."

 
Karim Sadjadpour
No one outside Tehran's inner ruling circle knows for certain who ordered the action.  Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, offers a possible scenario¹³. “I think that at the senior levels in Tehran there's ... a sense of schizophrenia," says Sadjadpour, "that on the one hand, 'we don't want confrontation¹⁴, we're weary of political and economic isolation,' but on the other hand, 'we're not simply going to lie down when you turn up the heat.'"

Former National Security Council staffer Gary Sick says the United States and Iran have similar interests in a stable Iraq, but that as Iraq's neighbor, Iran will not back off from its bid to exert influence there.

 
Gary Sick

"What's curious is that the United States and Iran have very close to the same interests in Iraq in the broad sense," says Sick, who now teaches at Columbia University in New York. 

"But the difference is that Iran is there, it's on the [Iraqi] border. It's fought a war with Iraq.  And Iran is going to stay there.  We're going to go away.  They will still be there 100 years from now," he continued, "and they have to think about what that's going to mean for their long-term interests.  At the moment, I think they feel they're doing pretty well."

A multinational¹⁵ conference on stabilizing¹⁶ Iraq was held in March that included both U.S. and Iranian officials.  Another meeting, this time with higher-ranking diplomats¹⁷, is in the works.

Paul Pillar says the meeting next month in Egypt was another factor in the quick end to the British-Iranian standoff. "I speculate that part of the thinking in Tehran which led to the release after the two weeks of captivity¹⁸ was not wanting to complicate¹⁹ particularly the Iraq conference, which is going to address some subjects that, despite the rhetoric²⁰ on both sides, both the United States and Iran share many interests, particularly the basic interest of not wanting to have unending and escalating²¹ disorder²² in Iraq. And, of course, for the Iranians," he added, "it's right next door."

The Iranian diplomat who was captured by unknown Iraqi gunmen gained his freedom right before Iran released the British naval personnel. Britain says there is no connection. Negotiations²³ also began to allow Iranian envoys²⁴ to visit the Iranians in U.S. custody²⁵.

Yet, mutual²⁶ suspicions persist. Iran is threatening to boycott²⁷ the next Iraq conference unless the five Iranians detained by U.S. forces are released.  Iran says they are diplomats.  American officials believe they are linked to Iraqi insurgents.

1 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

2 embroiled   

adj.卷入的；纠缠不清的

参考例句：

• He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours. 他与邻居们发生了争执。
• John and Peter were quarrelling, but Mary refused to get embroiled. 约翰和彼得在争吵，但玛丽不愿卷入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

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 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

7 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。

8 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。

9 insurgents   

n.起义，暴动，造反( insurgent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The regular troops of Baden joined the insurgents. 巴登的正规军参加到起义军方面来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Against the Taliban and Iraqi insurgents, these problems are manageable. 要对付塔利班与伊拉克叛乱分子，这些问题还是可以把握住的。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 abducted   

劫持，诱拐( abduct的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（肢体等）外展

参考例句：

• Detectives have not ruled out the possibility that she was abducted. 侦探尚未排除她被绑架的可能性。
• The kid was abducted at the gate of kindergarten. 那小孩在幼儿园大门口被绑架走了。

12 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

13 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。

14 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。

15 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

16 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

17 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 captivity   

n.囚禁；被俘；束缚

参考例句：

• A zoo is a place where live animals are kept in captivity for the public to see.动物园是圈养动物以供公众观看的场所。
• He was held in captivity for three years.他被囚禁叁年。

19 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

20 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

21 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

22 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

23 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

24 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

25 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

26 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

27 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。