VOA标准英语2012--Agreement to Resume Iran Nuclear Talks Aims to Prevent Regional Arms Race

Agreement to Resume Iran Nuclear Talks Aims to Prevent Regional Arms Race

The agreement to restart talks over Iran's nuclear program includes demands by permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany for “concrete and practical steps” to restore international trust in Tehran's claims that its atomic ambitions are purely¹ peaceful.

That means better access for inspectors² from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA says there are “strong indicators” that Iran is trying to develop an atomic bomb.

President Obama says the international community will not allow that to happen.

“My policy is not containment³. My policy is to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon, because if they get a nuclear weapon that could trigger an arms race in the region, it would undermine our nonproliferation goals, it could potentially fall into the hands of terrorists,” Obama said.

The U.S. is working with European and Asian allies to tighten⁴ sanctions against Iranian oil exports because they believe President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is using those profits to fund his nuclear program.

Johns Hopkins University professor Ruth Wedgwood says the U.S. is moving to pre-empt a regional nuclear arms race.

“Unpredictable as Ahmadinejad is, and thuggish as he is and inevitable⁵ as it would be that Iraq would then want a bomb as well, but Turkey would want one and Egypt would want one and Saudi would want one. So you would have a poly-player game in the Middle East. And why not Syria?,” Wedgewood said.

Israel sees a nuclear-armed Iran as a threat to its existence and refuses to rule out military action to prevent Tehran from developing an atomic weapon.

President Obama says Israel has to make its own decisions about security, but those decisions affect everyone involved.

"This is not just an issue of Israeli interest, this is an issue of U.S. interest. It's also not just an issue of consequences for Israel if action is taken prematurely⁶, there are consequences for the United States as well," Obama said.

President Obama says there is still time to resolve the nuclear stand off peacefully. But Professor Wedgwood says Iran's offer to resume talks is clearly influenced by increasing talk of war.

“Ahmadinejad, I suppose, can also read the gathering⁷ mood of provoked hostility⁸ from the U.S. He has to worry where our tipping point is. I think even we don't know that frankly⁹. American politics is often quite volatile,” Wedgewood said.

President Obama says American politicians who are "beating the drums of war" have a responsibility to explain the costs and benefits of military action. 

1 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。

2 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》

3 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

4 tighten   

v.(使)变紧；(使)绷紧

参考例句：

• Turn the screw to the right to tighten it.向右转动螺钉把它拧紧。
• Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation.一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

5 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

6 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

7 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。

8 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

9 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。