VOA常速英语2007-Putin Going to Iran Despite Reported Death Plot

By Peter Fedynsky
Moscow
15 October 2007

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is going ahead with his planned trip to Iran, despite reports of an assassination¹ plot against him in that country. VOA Moscow Correspondent Peter Fedynsky has details.

Speaking at a news conference with Chancellor² Angela Merkel in Wiesbaden, Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin laid to rest speculation³ he may delay or cancel his trip to Iran following reports that suicide attackers there would try to assassinate⁴ him.

"Obviously I am going to Iran, because if I listened to all of the security recommendations and threats against me, I would never leave home," said Mr. Putin.

The Interfax news agency reported the plot on Sunday based on information from Russian special services. The Kremlin leader is traveling to Iran for a summit of Caspian Sea nations.

Commenting on Tehran's controversial nuclear program, the Russian leader said it is important to engage the leaders and people of Iran in a direct dialogue on the issue, counting on a mutually positive result.

Heightened interest in the Russian president's trip follows his recent meetings with the leaders of France and Germany, as well as the U.S. secretaries of state and defense⁵. All of them raised objections with Mr. Putin about Iran's nuclear program, which many Western countries say is aimed at producing a nuclear bomb.

The Russian president says Tehran's program must become more transparent⁶, although he claims there is no objective evidence of a bomb program

Alexander Konovalov, Director of the Institute for Strategic Assessments⁷ in Moscow, told the VOA that Mr. Putin is in a position to tell Tehran that the international community, including Russia, opposes development of an Iranian nuclear bomb.

Konovalov says that will likely be Mr. Putin's primary message to Iran. He will also, according to the analyst⁸, try to convince that country that a nuclear bomb is not in Iran's best interests.

Tehran claims its nuclear program is for civilian⁹ power plants, but it insists on its own nuclear enrichment, which raises suspicions about Iranian intentions. Highly enriched uranium can be used to build a nuclear bomb.

Mr. Putin's visit to Iran will be the first by a Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin's Tehran war-time summit in 1943 with American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

1 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

2 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

4 assassinate   

vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤

参考例句：

• The police exposed a criminal plot to assassinate the president.警方侦破了一个行刺总统的阴谋。
• A plot to assassinate the banker has been uncovered by the police.暗杀银行家的密谋被警方侦破了。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

7 assessments   

n.评估( assessment的名词复数 )；评价；（应偿付金额的）估定；（为征税对财产所作的）估价

参考例句：

• He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明，约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评；而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句

8 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

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。