2006年VOA标准英语-US Says Iran Has Had Ample Time to Consider Nuc

By David Gollust
State Department
05 July 2006

The United States says Iran has had plenty of time to consider the nuclear offer by major powers, and that an answer is needed by next week. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice discussed the issue by telephone Wednesday with her foreign minister colleagues from the permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany.

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The United States has set no absolute deadline for an Iranian reply. But it is growing impatient over Iran's failure to provide a firm answer to the big-power proposal that it end uranium enrichment in return for various incentives¹, or face punitive² action.

The five permanent U.N. Security Council member countries and Germany formally handed the so-called carrots and sticks offer to Iran in early June, with the understanding that Tehran had weeks, not months, to respond.

Condoleezza Rice (r) with Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul at the State Department in Washington   
  
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said an answer might not come until after mid-August, and a critical meeting between Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and European Union chief diplomat³ Javiet Solana has been postponed⁴.

U.S. officials have said they want an Iranian reply before the P5+1 hold a special foreign ministers meeting in Paris July 12, a prelude⁵ to the big-power summit in St. Petersburg, Russia the following weekend.

At a joint⁶ press appearance here with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the international community requires an answer and that delaying tactics will not succeed.

"If indeed Iran is trying to stall, it's not going to work," said Condoleezza Rice. "The international community has said that we need to get an answer, an indication of where Iran is going with this. We need to know if the path of negotiations⁷ is open or not. It is really incumbent⁸ on Iran now to take what is a very good offer and respond to it."

Rice later held a telephone conference call with her P5+1colleagues. A senior official gave no details of the discussion. But he said the six powers have a united front despite Iranian efforts to find gaps and drive wedges among them.

He said they expect the Larijani-Solana meeting to occur before the Paris meeting next Wednesday. But he said that even if it doesn't, Rice and her colleagues will assess what they have heard from Iran and suggest a course of united action for the St. Petersburg summit.

Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said earlier this week said if Iran fails to accept the offer, the P5+1 would probably consider action in the U.N. Security Council.

U.S. officials have said they would pursue sanctions starting with travel and financial penalties targeted against the Iranian leadership.

They have said if sanctions are unattainable in the Security Council, they could still be imposed collectively by like-minded countries.

If it accepts the six-power offer, suspends enrichment and returns to nuclear negotiations, Iran would reap political and economic benefits including assistance for its civilian⁹ nuclear program.

Iran has insisted its nuclear efforts are entirely¹⁰ peaceful but the United States and some European allies believe Iran has a covert¹¹ nuclear weapons program.

1 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

2 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。

3 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。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 prelude   

n.序言，前兆，序曲

参考例句：

• The prelude to the musical composition is very long.这首乐曲的序曲很长。
• The German invasion of Poland was a prelude to World War II.德国入侵波兰是第二次世界大战的序幕。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 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。

8 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

9 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。