Iran's National Security Adviser Saeed Jalili is calling for a new round of negotiations with the West over its nuclear program, amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf over threats by Tehran to close the vital Strait of Hormuz. About 40 percent of the world's oil purchases transit through that waterway.
伊朗国家安全顾问贾利利呼吁和西方开展新一轮有关期核项目的谈判，这一呼吁发出之时正值波斯湾局势高度紧张、德黑兰威胁要封锁霍尔木兹海峡之际。世界40%的石油购买以后都会通过这条水上要道。
Iran's Al-Alam TV reported that security adviser Jalili made the offer to resume negotiations with the West Saturday, during a meeting with Iranian ambassadors in Tehran. It added that Iran's ambassador to Germany would present the proposal to EU foreign-policy chief Catherine Ashton.
伊朗官方电视台称，伊朗国家安全顾问贾利利提出，希望和西方恢复谈判。他星期六在德黑兰会晤伊朗驻外大使时发出了这项呼吁。他还补充说，伊朗驻德国大使将把这一提议转达给欧盟外交政策高级代表阿什顿。
The fresh diplomatic overture follows Iranian threats to close the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week. The U.S. later countered with a promise to keep the strait open - calming oil markets, which had been roiled by the earlier threats.
德黑兰本周稍早时威胁说要关闭霍尔木兹海峡。随后，美国针对这种说法提出承诺，保证让这个海峡畅通，以此来安抚石油市场，早先石油市场已经被伊朗的这一威胁搅乱。
Iran also appeared to have backed down Saturday from an earlier vow to launch long-range missiles during its ongoing 10-day naval maneuvers in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz. Initial reports that it had launched the missiles were followed by later denials by a naval spokesman.
伊朗星期六看来还从稍早的说法上后退了一步。德黑兰曾表示在霍尔木兹海峡附近进行10天海上军演过程中将发射远程导弹。最初的报道说，伊朗已经发射了导弹，但随后伊朗海军发言人否认了这种说法。
Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi portrayed the naval maneuvers as a mostly defensive action by Iran. He said that the Iranian naval maneuvers in the region of the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean are aimed at keeping the vital Strait of Hormuz open, and that Iran is testing its defensive capabilities, including various missiles in its arsenal.
穆萨维少将描述海上军演主要是伊朗采取的防御行动。他说，伊朗在阿曼湾和印度洋地区的海上军演主要是为了保证关键的霍尔木兹海峡通畅，而伊朗是在测试自己的防御功能，包括军火库中的各种导弹。
Reports in the Arab press indicate the U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis had entered the Persian Gulf and was observing the Iranian maneuvers from a distance. The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, and closing it would constitute an act of war.
来自阿拉伯媒体的报道说，美国斯坦尼斯号航空母舰已经进入了波斯湾，正从远处观察伊朗海上军演过程，霍尔木兹海峡是国际水域通道，关闭这一通道将被认为是发动战争。
Iran analyst Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington says Tehran is trying to show that it is capable of closing the Strait of Hormuz, while at the same time trying to resume negotiations over its nuclear program which broke off last January:
华盛顿智库中东学会的伊朗问题分析师亚历克斯·瓦坦卡说，德黑兰在设法表明它有能力关闭霍尔木兹海峡，同时也在设法恢复有关其核项目问题的谈判。伊朗核问题谈判去年1月中断。
"The primary message, I think, from the latest Iranian naval exercises and their suggestion that they are both able and perhaps willing to close down the Strait of Hormuz, if it comes down to that, is for the Iranians to say to the West that they, too, can raise the stakes," said Vatanka. "I think that is the key issue here. But as we've also seen the Iranian state in action elsewhere, there are signs of them again raising the issue of the continuation of the negotiations track, aimed at resolving the nuclear stalemate."
瓦坦卡说：“我认为，从伊朗最近的海军演习以及他们表明他们既有能力而且也可能愿意关闭霍尔木兹海峡来看，伊朗主要是要向西方表明他们也能够提高谈判筹码。我认为这是问题的关键所在。但我们也已经看到，伊朗也在其它地方采取行动，有迹象表明他们提出继续进行旨在解决伊朗核问题僵局的谈判。”
Mehrdad Khonsari of the Center for Arab and Iranian Studies in London argues that Iran's recent threats to close the Strait of Hormuz is an attempt to scare the West into avoiding further economic sanctions now being debated in both the U.S. and Europe:
伦敦的阿拉伯和伊朗研究中心的梅尔戴德·洪塞里则认为，伊朗最近威胁要封锁霍尔木兹海峡是企图吓唬西方，以避免受到进一步的经济制裁。美国和欧洲现在正讨论是否对伊朗实行进一步制裁。
"The Iranians have resorted to bluffing and to trying to intimidate people into inaction against them," said Khonsari. "So this issue over the Strait of Hormuz, which has gained so much public attention, is really much ado about nothing, because nothing has happened."
洪塞里说：“伊朗是在虚张声势，设法威胁大家不要对他们采取(制裁)行动。因此，关于已引起众人关注的霍尔木兹海峡这个问题，真的没什么好怕的，因为什么都没有发生。”
He goes on to argue that the Iranians "are in no position to carry out any of their threats," and that most policy-makers in the West Know that. Some analysts say that economic sanctions recently passed by the U.S. Congress preventing dealings with Iran's central bank could prompt Tehran to lash out at the West. Khonsari, however, says the sanctions will not bite too hard, because neither Russia nor China will allow the U.N. Security Council to pass a similar resolution.
洪塞里继续说，伊朗“无力采取任何行动，”西方国家的大多数决策者知道这一点。一些分析人士认为，美国国会最近通过的禁止与伊朗央行交易的经济制裁方案导致德黑兰向西方发出威胁。不过，洪塞里说，这些制裁措施不会产生太大影响，因为不管是俄罗斯还是中国，都不会让联合国安理会通过类似的决议。 |