美国国家公共电台 NPR 特朗普下令"击沉"伊朗舰艇 美伊关系持续恶化

While the world is focused on the coronavirus pandemic, tensions have been simmering between the Trump¹ administration and Iran. Today the president took to Twitter to send a warning to Iran — stop harassing³ U.S. naval⁴ ships with Iranian fast boats or else. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is also accusing Iran of violating U.N. resolutions by launching a military satellite, as NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE⁵: President Trump tweeted that he's instructed the U.S. Navy to shoot down and destroy, quote, "any and all Iranian gunboats" if they harass² American ships at sea. At the State Department, Secretary Pompeo was also talking tough, saying the U.N. Security Council should respond to Iran's latest satellite launch, this one by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps⁶, which the U.S. considers to be a terrorist organization.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIKE POMPEO: The Iranians have consistently said that these missile programs were disconnected from the military, that these were purely⁷ commercial enterprises. I think today's launch proves what we've been saying all along here in the United States. The IRGC, a designated terrorist organization, launched a missile.

KELEMEN: The Trump administration killed a top IRGC commander, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike in January. At the time, U.S. officials argued that the strike would restore deterrence⁸. But there are ongoing⁹ incidents across the region. And Ariane Tabatabai, an Iran expert with the German Marshall Fund, says the Iranians and the Americans don't seem to be looking for a diplomatic off-ramp.

ARIANE TABATABAI: So neither side seems to be wanting to take a step back from where we are. And so that makes it a lot harder for Europeans, for anyone who's trying to play mediator¹⁰ to do so effectively.

KELEMEN: Speaking recently via Skype, she says Iran has an interest in distracting attention from the problems they're having at home dealing¹¹ with COVID-19.

TABATABAI: There's been a lot of cover-up, incompetence¹², corruption¹³. There have been a lot of issues that are their own government's issues. The U.S. maximum pressure campaign has not helped, though, and that is challenging because it doesn't allow the United States to sort of say that we have taken the higher road here.

KELEMEN: Secretary Pompeo, though, is still trying that approach, pointing out that Iran rejected an offer of U.S. aid.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

POMPEO: And all the while, they are launching satellites, driving ships around the Arabian Gulf¹⁴, coming and harassing U.S. naval vessels¹⁵. They continue to underwrite Shia militias¹⁶ that are working to support Hezbollah. Yesterday, my Iranian counterpart of the day before was in Syria talking to the butcher in Damascus.

KELEMEN: Critics of the maximum pressure campaign say these are signs that the U.S. policy is failing if it is really meant to get Iran back to the negotiating table and not to provoke a conflict with Iran.

Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

3 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

4 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。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

7 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。

8 deterrence   

威慑，制止； 制止物，制止因素； 挽留的事物； 核威慑

参考例句：

• An extreme school of "disarmers" pronounced stable deterrence was a dangerous deception. “裁军论者”中的极端派声称，稳定的威摄是一种危险的骗局。
• Escalation is thus an aspect of deterrence and of crisis management. 因此逐步升级是威慑和危机处理的一个方面。

9 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。

10 mediator   

n.调解人，中介人

参考例句：

• He always takes the role of a mediator in any dispute.他总是在争论中充当调停人的角色。
• He will appear in the role of mediator.他将出演调停者。

11 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

12 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

13 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

14 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。

15 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

16 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网