Debate Sharpens in Washington on Nuclear Pact With Iran

 

Debate is intensifying¹ in Washington on the merits and potential pitfalls², the risks and possible rewards, of the United States possibly pulling out of the international nuclear accord with Iran.

The U.S. Congress has decisions to make now that President Donald Trump³ has withheld⁴ certifying⁵ Iran’s compliance⁶ with the pact⁷ co-negotiated by the Obama administration.

As a candidate and as president, Trump has consistently bashed the nuclear accord with Tehran as “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.”

The pact halted much of Iran’s nuclear activities, but left a multitude of other thorny⁸ topics unaddressed, from Tehran’s ballistic missile program to its support for international terrorism.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley says a new approach is needed.

“The United States has now embarked⁹ on a course that attempts to address all aspects of Iran’s destructive conduct, not just one aspect. It’s critical that the international community do the same,” Haley said.

Some on Capitol Hill applaud the move. Among those agreeing the president is Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

“I think it was one of the worst deals I have ever seen, and President Trump has every right to change it or tear it up,” Graham said.

America’s closest allies are urging caution. Speaking Friday at the Center for Strategic and International studies in Washington, French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said she saw no alternative.

"We need the JCPOA,” she said, referring to the Iran deal by its formal name – the Joint¹⁰ Comprehensive Plan of Action. “Scrapping it would be a gift to Iran's hardliners and a first step towards future wars.”

That argument is echoed by prominent Democrats¹¹ in Congress. Among the deal’s supporters is Senator Tim Kaine.

“If you weaken diplomacy¹², you raise the risk of unnecessary war, and that’s what this president is doing.… If we take a step back from the deal, Iran will take a step back. And what will they ask for, that they get to now increase centrifuges or get some of their enriched uranium back? I do not want to give Iran one thing back from this deal,” said Kaine.

Iran says it is adhering to the nuclear pact, at least for now. But that is not good enough for some Republicans.

“Under the deal, after the passage of 15 years, the Iranians can enrich and reprocess [uranium], no matter how they are behaving,” Senator Graham said.

Defenders¹³ of the accord note that Congress already provided tools to punish Tehran for behavior not covered by the nuclear accord.

“We have given the power to the president to impose more sanctions on Iran for bellicose¹⁴ behavior, for activities in other countries, for violations¹⁵ of human rights, for violating U.N. Security Council resolutions on their missile program,” Senator Kaine said. “The president should use the sanctions power we just gave him.”

Under former president Barack Obama, the United States committed to the nuclear accord as an executive agreement that can be revoked¹⁶, not as a formal treaty binding¹⁷ future administrations. For many Republicans, pulling out would be an appropriate use of President Trump’s authority. According to many Democrats, it would be a dangerous mistake.

1 intensifying   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的现在分词 )；增辉

参考例句：

• The allies are intensifying their air campaign. 联军部队正加大他们的空战强度。 来自辞典例句
• The rest of the European powers were in a state of intensifying congestion. 其余的欧洲强国则处于越来越拥挤的状态。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

2 pitfalls   

（捕猎野兽用的）陷阱( pitfall的名词复数 )； 意想不到的困难，易犯的错误

参考例句：

• the potential pitfalls of buying a house 购买房屋可能遇到的圈套
• Several pitfalls remain in the way of an agreement. 在达成协议的进程中还有几个隐藏的困难。

3 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。

4 withheld   

withhold过去式及过去分词

参考例句：

• I withheld payment until they had fulfilled the contract. 他们履行合同后，我才付款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There was no school play because the principal withheld his consent. 由于校长没同意，学校里没有举行比赛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 certifying   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的现在分词 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Signed Commercial in quintuplicate, certifying merchandise to be of Chinese origin. 签署商业发票一式五份，证明产品的原产地为中国。
• Other documents certifying the truthfulness of the contents of the advertisements. （三）确认广告内容真实性的其他证明文件。

6 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

7 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

8 thorny   

adj.多刺的，棘手的

参考例句：

• The young captain is pondering over a thorny problem.年轻的上尉正在思考一个棘手的问题。
• The boys argued over the thorny points in the lesson.孩子们辩论功课中的难点。

9 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

10 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。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

13 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 bellicose   

adj.好战的；好争吵的

参考例句：

• He expressed alarm about the government's increasingly bellicose statements.他对政府越来越具挑衅性的声明表示担忧。
• Some irresponsible politicians made a bellicose remarks.一些不负责任的政客说出一些好战的话语。

15 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

16 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

17 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。