2007年VOA标准英语-US, Iranian Officials to Discuss Iraq

By Benjamin Sand
Islamabad
17 May 2007

Iran's foreign minister says Tehran will begin direct talks with the United States about Iraqi security later this month. From Islamabad, VOA correspondent Benjamin Sand reports the high-level meeting is not expected to touch on the ongoing¹ controversy² over Iran's nuclear program.

 

Manouchehr Mottaki

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says the talks will be held in Iraq on May 28, and will focus exclusively on Iraqi security.

"Negotiation³ is limited to Iraq, in Iraq, and will start in the presence of Iraqi officials," he said.

Mottaki told reporters in Islamabad Thursday that the talks will be at the ambassadorial level, and a more specific agenda will be drawn⁴ up later.

The Iranian diplomat⁵ is in Pakistan for a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference.

The U.S.-Iranian meeting has been widely anticipated, but Mottaki is the first to provide a firm date.

 

Earlier this week U.S. officials said the talks would be held "soon," and would review ways in which Iran could play a more productive role in Iraq.

Washington has accused Tehran of supporting Shi'ite militants⁶ in Iraq and helping⁷ fuel the country's sectarian violence.

The United States also believes Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, and constitutes a major threat to regional and international security.

Iran denies both assertions, and hard-liners inside the country have strongly opposed the planned meeting in Iraq.

But on Tuesday, Iran's supreme⁸ leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gave his backing for the talks - although he said the negotiations⁹ would be limited to Iraq's internal security situation.

Iraqi officials say the talks are a welcome and important step toward stabilizing¹⁰ the violence-wracked country.

1 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

2 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。

3 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

4 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

5 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。

6 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 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。

9 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。

10 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