2006年VOA标准英语-Iran Rejects Uranium Enrichment Freeze as Preco

By Scott Stearns
White House
23 June 2006

Iran says it will not stop enriching uranium as a precondition for potential talks with the United States and European allies.  President Bush wants Iran to respond to an offer from the international community by next month. Iran wants to wait until August.

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The deputy head of Iran's National Security Council says the only way to resolve the standoff over his country's nuclear program is through talks without conditions.

Javad Vaeedi told a political forum¹ in Vienna that Iran considers the suspension of uranium enrichment to be neither a precondition for those talks nor a possible outcome of those talks.

Suspending enrichment is a precondition for talks being offered by Britain, France and Germany along with the United States. Their plan is believed to offer support for civilian² nuclear power and an easing of some trade restrictions³ in exchange for Iran suspending uranium enrichment and returning to talks on broader U.N. inspections⁴.

Vaeedi says Iran needs more time to look over that proposal, as he says it is a very important matter, and the government wants to maximize its chances for success.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says he will take until mid-August to respond to the plan. President Bush would prefer an answer before next month's summit of leading industrialized nations in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Tony Snow   
  
White House spokesman Tony Snow says Iran should be able to assess the plan before then, but as it is a multilateral offer, it is not up to President Bush alone to decide when Iran should respond.

"The president would like them to respond tomorrow, if the answer were 'yes' and they were ready to suspend enrichment and reprocessing activities," he said.

Snow says President Bush discussed the issue during talks in Europe this past week, and all involved in making the offer agreed that Iran should respond in weeks not months.

To ensure that the answer they receive is the considered response of the Iranian government, Snow says, they have asked Tehran to pass on its decision through European Union Secretary General Javier Solana.

Iran says it is enriching uranium for the peaceful civilian purpose of generating electricity. President Bush and European allies believe Iran is secretly developing a nuclear weapon.

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

3 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

4 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》