VOA标准英语2009年-Analysts Say Russia's Influence on Iran Ve

How to deal with and what to do with Iran's nuclear weapons aspirations¹ is expected to be discussed during the upcoming Moscow summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev. Iran's nuclear weapons program is of major concern to the Obama administration.

What is the uranium enrichment plan designed for?
　
Iran's nuclear power plant at Bushehr

The United States and the European Union believe Iran's uranium enrichment program is designed ultimately to build nuclear arms. Tehran says it only wants to use its enriched uranium for peaceful purposes, such as generating electricity.

In an interview with VOA's "Press Conference USA", former U.S. National Security Adviser³ (retired Air Force) General Brent Scowcroft said it is essential to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.

"Because I think if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons, it is not so much that they have a few nuclear weapons, but that the response in the region will be a nuclear response and you will have countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and so on, doing the same thing," said Brent Scowcroft.

In an effort to counter the possible nuclear threat from Tehran, the Obama administration is looking at the possibility of stationing a missile defense⁴ system in Eastern Europe made up of 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar⁵ facility in the Czech Republic.

U.S. officials have said the system is not targeted against Moscow as stated by Russian officials who remain strongly opposed to the proposed plan.

Daryll Kimball is executive director of the Arms Control Association, an independent research organization.

"A few interceptors in Poland would not negate⁶ hundreds of nuclear-armed Russian ballistic missiles," said Daryll Kimball. "But what the Russians are concerned about is that over time, this system that the United States has been developing over the past several years will expand and become a real threat. They are also concerned about it because these facilities - the radar in the Czech Republic and the interceptor base in Poland - are in former eastern bloc⁷ countries, they would be literally⁸ on the doorstep of Russia."

Bush, Obama differ on missile defense shield in Europe

While the Bush administration was wholeheartedly behind the missile shield plan, President Obama has been more cautious. He has stated that his commitment to the program will be based on the nature of Iran's threat and whether or not the system is technically⁹ feasible.

Robert Legvold from Columbia University says President Obama presented his administration's position in a letter to the Russian president in February.

"In effect what he said is, look, this system is designed for a potential Iranian threat," said Robert Legvold. "If that threat diminishes or disappears, then the urgency of going forward with the system also eases. He didn't put it in terms of a quid pro² quo - if you help us prevent Iran from going forward, then we promise we won't go forward with the system - that's the way it got reported in the press in a misleading fashion, but he suggested there was a logical connection between the two. The Russians have made it plain that they are not interested in creating that linkage¹⁰."

Many experts say whether Tehran decides to curtail¹¹ its nuclear weapons aspirations could be based on how much pressure Russia exerts on Tehran.

But other analysts¹², including David Kramer, a former senior U.S. State Department official in the Bush administration (now with the German Marshall Fund in the United States), say Russia's influence over Iran is limited.

"I've been skeptical¹³ about Russia's ability: one - to have leverage¹⁴ to use over Iran, and two - its willingness to do so, even if it did have it," said David Kramer. "Russia has a lot of interests in Iran: significant trade, nuclear reactor¹⁵ construction, energy, arms sales. And I've been of the view that Russia would much prefer for the United States and other countries to play the role of the bad guy, to lean on Iran, to be the one pushing for sanctions while Russia stays in the background."

The potential Iranian threat will be one of the issues discussed during the upcoming summit meeting in Moscow. Analysts say it will be interesting to see if President Obama will be able to enlist¹⁶ the help of President Medvedev in dealing¹⁷ with Iran's nuclear weapons aspirations.

1 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

4 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。

5 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

6 negate   

vt.否定，否认；取消，使无效

参考例句：

• Our actions often negate our principles.我们的行为时常与我们所信奉的原则背道而弛。
• Mass advertising could negate the classical theory of supply and demand.大宗广告可以否定古典经济学的供求理论。

7 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

10 linkage   

n.连接；环节

参考例句：

• In their monographic treatment of linkage,they have emphasized this especially.他们在论连锁的专题文章中特别强调了这点。
• Occasionally,problems with block inheritance or linkage are encountered.有时会遇到区段遗传或连锁问题。

11 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

12 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

13 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

14 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

15 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

16 enlist   

vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍

参考例句：

• They come here to enlist men for the army.他们来这儿是为了召兵。
• The conference will make further efforts to enlist the support of the international community for their just struggle. 会议必将进一步动员国际社会，支持他们的正义斗争。

17 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。