2006年VOA标准英语-IAEA: Iran Violating Security Council Order

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
31 August 2006

The U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has concluded that Iran is continuing its uranium enrichment work in defiance¹ of a Security Council demand.  Council members are likely to begin talks on possible sanctions against Tehran in the next few weeks.

--------

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, left, inaugurates a heavy-water nuclear facility, Aug. 26, 2006  
  
In a six-page report, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director Mohamed ElBaradei bluntly says "Iran has not suspended its enrichment activities".

The report sent to the U.N. Security Council Thursday also says the agency has not been able to confirm the nature of Iran's nuclear program because of Tehran's lack of cooperation. It adds that "Iran has resumed enriching small amounts of uranium in recent days".

Washington's U.N. Ambassador John Bolton described the IAEA report as a warning signal to the international community about Iran's nuclear intentions.

"That's a red flag," said Mr. Bolton.  "That says that the Iranian program contains much that should be worried about here in New York and underlies² our concern that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. There's simply no other explanation for the range of Iranian behavior, which we've seen over the years other than that they're pursuing a weapons capability³."

The IAEA findings place Iran in clear violation⁴ of an earlier Security Council order that set an August 31 deadline for suspending enrichment activities. It also opens the way for the Council to impose sanctions against the Tehran government.

Bolton reiterated⁵ the U.S. intention to push ahead with sanctions. But he said the Security Council would not take up the question of possible penalties until after a meeting next week between European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.
 

John Bolton  
  
"There are a range of issues that we've been considering," he added.  "I don't think there'll be discussions here until after Javier Solana meets with Mr. Larijani next week in Europe, so we'll see what happens after that meeting, but the United States has been considering this for some time and we've got a lot of thoughts on it."

The deputy chief of Iran's nuclear agency, Mohammed Saeedi was quoted Thursday as saying the IAEA report had shown that U.S. allegations about Tehran's nuclear program are, in his words, baseless.

In a report carried by Iran's official news agency IRNA, Saeedi said the report had shown that what he called "America's propaganda and politically motivated claims" are based on "hallucinations of U.S. officials".

The focus of negotiations⁶ on Iran shifts to Europe next week, where U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns will meet with other diplomats⁷ from Security Council nations and Germany on the sanctions issue. They are also expected to confer with E.U. foreign policy chief Solana before and after his meeting with the Iranian nuclear negotiator Larijani.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy Thursday signaled the negotiations may be lengthy⁸. He said that while his country deplores⁹ Iran's unsatisfactory response to the Security Council demand for an end to uranium enrichment, he remains¹⁰ convinced that the path of dialogue should remain open.

1 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

2 underlies   

v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的第三人称单数 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起

参考例句：

• I think a lack of confidence underlies his manner. 我认为他表现出的态度是因为他缺乏信心。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Try to figure out what feeling underlies your anger. 努力找出你的愤怒之下潜藏的情感。 来自辞典例句

3 capability   

n.能力；才能；(pl)可发展的能力或特性等

参考例句：

• She has the capability to become a very fine actress.她有潜力成为杰出演员。
• Organizing a whole department is beyond his capability.组织整个部门是他能力以外的事。

4 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

5 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

6 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。

7 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

9 deplores   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He often deplores his past sins. 他经常痛悔自己过去的罪恶。 来自辞典例句
• Regretting the lack of spontaneity and real sensuousness in other contemporary poets, he deplores in Tennyson. 他对于和他同时代的诗人缺乏自发性和真实的敏感，感到惋惜，他对坦尼森感到悲痛。 来自辞典例句

10 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。