2006年VOA标准英语-Iran's President Sends Letter to American Peopl

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
29 November 2006

Iran's president has issued an open letter to the American people in which he criticizes U.S. policies in the Middle East. VOA's Peter Heinlein reports the letter was released at U.N. headquarters in New York.

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Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 26 Nov 2006

Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's letter deplores¹ what it calls "blind and blanket" U.S. support for Israel. The five-page document, addressed to "noble Americans," accuses the Bush administration of supporting the trampling² of rights of the Palestinian people in disregard of its own public opinion.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also criticizes the American military presence in Iraq. He charges that what he calls the administration's "resort to force, to conceal³ the truth and mislead the American people" has probably weakened the U.S. position in the world.

A state-run newspaper in Tehran Wednesday described the letter as an attempt by the Iranian leader to reach out to Americans over the head of their government.

Last May, Mr. Ahmadinejad wrote an 18-page open letter directly to President Bush. It criticized the administration's policies toward Iran. Mr. Bush did not reply.

Diplomats⁴ and U.N. officials reacted cautiously to the latest letter. Washington's U.N. Ambassador John Bolton noted⁵ that it had been sent to correspondents, but not to U.S. officials.

"With respect to President Ahmedinejad's letter, this American person hasn't seen it. I know you in the press have it, so maybe that's who he's addressing it to, but I won't comment till I see it, although I understand it's only five pages and not 18 pages like the last one," he said.

Although the letter was distributed at the United Nations, Secretary-General Kofi Annan's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, made clear that it was not in any way linked to the world body or its staff.

"I don't believe it was sent through the facilities of the U.N. The letter has not been addressed to the secretary-general. We haven't read it or analyzed⁶ it so we have no response," he said.

President Bush has repeatedly said he considers Iran a threat to world peace. Ambassador Bolton has been pressing for a Security Council resolution imposing⁷ sanctions on Tehran for its nuclear activities. But action on a European-sponsored draft resolution has been stalled for weeks, and its future is uncertain.

Iran defied an earlier Council resolution ordering it to suspend enrichment by August 31. The resolution had been approved in July to back up an offer by world powers of incentives⁸ for Iran to cooperate, accompanied by a threat of punitive⁹ action if it did not. 

1 deplores   

v.悲叹，痛惜，强烈反对( deplore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He often deplores his past sins. 他经常痛悔自己过去的罪恶。 来自辞典例句
• Regretting the lack of spontaneity and real sensuousness in other contemporary poets, he deplores in Tennyson. 他对于和他同时代的诗人缺乏自发性和真实的敏感，感到惋惜，他对坦尼森感到悲痛。 来自辞典例句

2 trampling   

踩( trample的现在分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯

参考例句：

• Diplomats denounced the leaders for trampling their citizens' civil rights. 外交官谴责这些领导人践踏其公民的公民权。
• They don't want people trampling the grass, pitching tents or building fires. 他们不希望人们踩踏草坪、支帐篷或生火。

3 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。

8 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 punitive   

adj.惩罚的，刑罚的

参考例句：

• They took punitive measures against the whole gang.他们对整帮人采取惩罚性措施。
• The punitive tariff was imposed to discourage tire imports from China.该惩罚性关税的征收是用以限制中国轮胎进口的措施。