VOA慢速英语--美国再次全面制裁伊朗核计划相关行业

US Again Places Full Restrictions¹ on Iran for Its Nuclear Program

The United States again restricted Iran’s oil and financial industry on Monday. Iran criticized the move.

Iranian President Hassan Rohani said on Iranian television Monday that his country would try to continue to sell oil to break the U.S. sanctions.

Rouhani added that his country would resist efforts to punish it for its disputed nuclear program. Western nations say Iran aims to build nuclear weapons.

Rouhani added, “We are in the economic war situation.”

Eight governments have received temporary permission to continue to import Iranian oil. They are China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Those governments make up a majority or Iran’s oil exports. It is not clear when the special permission will end.

U.S. officials comment on the sanctions

U.S. Treasury² Secretary Steven Mnuchin described the sanctions that took effect on Monday. “Today we sanctioned more than 700 individuals, entities³, aircraft and vessels⁴ as part of Treasury’s largest-ever single day action targeting Iran,” Mnuchin said.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also commented, saying Iran had a choice. “It can either do a 180 degree turn from its outlaw⁵ course of action and act like a normal country, or it can see its economy crumble⁶,” Pompeo said.

Iran is already facing an economic crisis. Over the last year, the exchange value of Iran’s currency has dropped sharply against the U.S. dollar. A lack of jobs and high prices have also led to major protests.

Nuclear agreement

The restrictions officially end all economic gains the U.S. permitted Iran after the nuclear agreement of 2015. The U.S., Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany signed that agreement, along with Iran.

But President Donald Trump⁷ announced last May that the U.S. would withdraw from the agreement. Trump said the deal permitted Iran to continue its secret development of nuclear weapons and gave it money to support violence throughout the Middle East.

Supporters of the agreement say Iran remained compliant⁸ with the deal. And, they say, the agreement was the best way to slow Iran’s nuclear development.

In a statement Friday, Trump said the purpose of re-imposing sanctions is to force Iran’s leaders to end the country’s “destructive behavior.” If Iran fails to do this, he said, it would “continue down the path toward economic disaster.”

On Sunday, some Iranians marked the 39th anniversary of the seizure⁹ of the U.S. embassy in Tehran in 1979. Iranian revolutionary activists¹⁰ held more than 50 Americans hostage for 444 days.

I’m Mario Ritter.

Words in This Story

sanction –n. measure put in place to cause a country to obey international law, usually by limiting or banning trade

entities –n. a group that exists by itself that is separate from others

crumble –v. to break down completely

re-impose –v. to cause something such as a rule or punishment to again affect a person, group or country

1 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

2 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

3 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

4 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》

5 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

6 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

7 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。

8 compliant   

adj.服从的，顺从的

参考例句：

• I don't respect people who are too compliant.我看不起那种唯命是从，唯唯诺诺的人。
• For years I had tried to be a compliant and dutiful wife.几年来，我努力做一名顺从和尽职尽职的妻子。

9 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》