PBS高端访谈:特朗普可能会废除伊朗核协议

 　　Another hallmark of the Obama administration is the Iran nuclear deal.

　　And a deadline looms¹ this weekend to certify² whether Tehran is in compliance³ and whether the agreement is in the U.S. national security interest.

　　There is fierce debate over what President Trump⁴ should do.

　　But we wanted to step back to look at what the deal does and what it does not do, and what the president's decision could mean. Nick Schifrin is here to put it in context.

　　In 2015, the United States and a united world community made a deal with Iran.

　　Iran severely⁵ restricted its nuclear program, allowed more access to international inspectors⁶, and promised never to seek, develop, or acquire any nuclear weapons.

　　Before the deal, U.S. and Israeli intelligence believed the breakout time for Iran to build a nuclear weapon was as little as one month.

　　After the deal, the breakout time is at least 12 months.

　　In return, the U.S. and the U.N. lifted sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program worth more than $100 billion,

　　and promised not to discourage investment in Iran. The deal was announced by the European Union's top diplomat⁷, Federica Mogherini.

　　We delivered on what the world was hoping for, a shared commitment to peace and to join hands in order to make our world safer.

　　The deal's critics were unconvinced.

　　I know deal-making. And let me tell you, this deal is catastrophic, for America, for Israel, and for the whole of the Middle East.

　　The first criticism is the deal's expiry dates, or so-called sunsets.

　　After eight years, Iran can begin to slowly manufacture increasingly advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium.

　　After 15 years, Iran can start producing higher-grade uranium, and can expand its stockpile of uranium. And after 20 years, Iran can restrict international monitoring.

　　The deal's advocates counter that all arms deal have sunsets, and that the deal has important permanent restrictions⁸.

　　Iran is forever banned from activities that could contribute to the development of a nuclear explosive device,

　　and is forever required to notify inspectors if it's building a nuclear facility.

　　The critics also condemn⁹ what's not in the deal. Iran helps arm militant¹⁰ groups in the Middle East, including Hezbollah, deemed a terrorist group.

　　The deal doesn't prevent that. Iran launches and trades ballistic missiles. The deal doesn't prevent that.

　　And Iran helps the Syrian regime's brutal¹¹ crackdown. The deal doesn't prevent that either.

　　The deal's defenders¹² say it was never designed to confront those other issues, and it's better to do that confrontation¹³ when Iran doesn't have an active nuclear program.

　　But the deal does say world powers expect Iran to positively¹⁴ contribute to regional and international peace and security.

　　And critics argue Iran, even if it's in technical compliance, is going against that, against the so-called spirit of the deal.

　　We cannot abide¹⁵ by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual¹⁶ construction of a nuclear program.

　　So, what's next? Administration and congressional officials tell me they expect the president will not certify Iran is in compliance with the deal, based on national security grounds.

　　That will trigger a 60-day window, during which Congress can go vote for against snapping back sanctions, meaning reimposing nuclear-related sanctions on Iran.

　　That would likely kill the deal. But even the deal's most strident critics, such as Senator Tom Cotton, say Congress shouldn't kill the deal.

　　They want the 60-day window, so the U.S. can gain leverage¹⁷ to get Iran to change the deal, even if that takes many months.

　　The world needs to know we're serious, we're willing to walk away, and we're willing to reimpose sanctions, and a lot more than that.

　　The Trump administration wants to change all Iranian behavior. But it's not clear it's possible to do so by renegotiating the nuclear deal.

　　Iran says it won't renegotiate. And with the possible exception of France, none of the other countries who signed the deal want to renegotiate.

　　Wendy Sherman led the Obama team that negotiated the deal.

　　If the president doesn't certify, even if Congress doesn't snap back sanctions, which is this Kabuki smackdown,

　　their ability to pull off this Kabuki dance is in great question. As a result, we will isolate¹⁸ ourselves from the rest of the world.

　　The next few months will be dominated by uncertainty¹⁹, uncertainty what Congress will do, and uncertainty how Iran will respond to Washington's decisions.

　　The deadline for the president to announce his decision is Sunday. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Nick Schifrin. undefined

1 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 certify   

vt.证明，证实；发证书(或执照)给

参考例句：

• I can certify to his good character.我可以证明他品德好。
• This swimming certificate is to certify that I can swim one hundred meters.这张游泳证是用以证明我可以游100米远。

3 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。

4 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。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 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。

8 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

9 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

10 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

11 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

12 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》

13 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

14 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

15 abide   

vi.遵守；坚持；vt.忍受

参考例句：

• You must abide by the results of your mistakes.你必须承担你的错误所造成的后果。
• If you join the club,you have to abide by its rules.如果你参加俱乐部，你就得遵守它的规章。

16 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

17 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。

18 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

19 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。