VOA标准英语--伊朗和叙利亚再次违反《核不扩散条约》

（单词翻译）

Iranian and Syrian Noncompliance on WMD

In a recent speech in Washington addressing the previous or current violations² of either the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty or the Chemical Weapons Convention by the regimes of Syria and Iran, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance¹ Yleem Poblete said all responsible nations are challenged.

Dr. Poblete noted³ that the U.S. National Security Strategy under President Donald Trump⁴ calls for “the augmentation of measures to prevent the spread of and to eliminate [weapons of mass destruction] and related materials, their delivery systems, and technologies. It further underscores the need to hold state and non-state actors accountable for the use of WMD.”

Regarding chemical weapons, Assistant Secretary Poblete pointed⁵ out that the Assad regime has “brazenly violated the international norm” prohibiting their use. The Joint⁶ Investigative Mechanism⁷ of the Organization for the Prohibition⁸ of Chemical Weapons and the UN clearly established that the Syrian regime was responsible for four cases of chemical weapons use against the Syrian people.

Syria also remains⁹ in continued noncompliance with the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Assad started to construct an undeclared plutonium production reactor¹⁰ in the Dair Alzour region, which was destroyed by Israel in an air-strike in 2007. Syria has persistently¹¹ refused to cooperate with investigators¹² from the IAEA about the reactor or address outstanding questions about its activities at the site and other related sites.

With regard to Iran and its nuclear ambitions, the Iran nuclear deal from which the United States withdrew in May, was severely¹³ flawed. Assistant Secretary Poblete said that among its chief defects, the deal “failed to prevent Iran from ever having fissile material production capabilities¹⁴ that would permit it to rapidly breakout into weaponization.” In addition, its verification provisions did not go far enough; and most concerning of all, it did not cover Iran's missile or chemical weapons programs.

Assistant Secretary Poblete cited President Trump's assertion in the National Security Strategy that “[t]he scourge¹⁵ of the world today is a small group of rogue¹⁶ regimes that violate all principles of free and civilized¹⁷ states.”

The response to those states must be constant vigilance. Noncompliance and blatant¹⁸ disregard of international legal obligations must be thoroughly¹⁹ reviewed documented and assessed, Assistant Secretary Poblete emphasized. Then appropriate action and accountability can and must follow.