Playing with fire

玩火

Backed into a corner, Iran is lashing out

被逼上絕路的伊朗正在猛烈反擊

詞匯

lash out/猛擊；猛烈抨擊；大肆揮霍

To what end?

冤冤相報(bào)何時(shí)了？

Jun 22nd 2019

FOR A MOMENT it seemed as if America and Iran were stepping back from the brink. A month ago the two countries were close to conflict, as Iran threatened to shrug off a deal, signed with six world powers, that limited its nuclear programme in return for economic relief. America had blocked that relief and was sending warships to the region. But Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, went to Tehran on June 12th with a proposal for talks that appeared to have the approval of President Donald Trump. Mr Abe told Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Mr Trump wanted a new deal, not regime change. “Iran has no trust in America,” said Mr Khamenei, rejecting the offer.

一時(shí)間，美國(guó)和伊朗似乎正從懸崖邊后退。一個(gè)月前，兩國(guó)幾乎陷入沖突，伊朗威脅要對(duì)與世界六大國(guó)簽署的一項(xiàng)限制其核計(jì)劃以換取經(jīng)濟(jì)援助的協(xié)議置之不理。美國(guó)中止了了援助行動(dòng)，并向該地區(qū)派遣軍艦。但日本首相安倍晉三于6月12日前往德黑蘭，提出了一項(xiàng)似乎得到了唐納德·特朗普總統(tǒng)批準(zhǔn)的談判提議。安倍告訴伊朗最高領(lǐng)袖阿亞圖拉阿里哈梅內(nèi)伊(Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)，特朗普想要的是一項(xiàng)新協(xié)議，而不是政權(quán)更迭。“伊朗不信任美國(guó)，”哈梅內(nèi)伊拒絕了這一提議。

詞匯

shrug off/擺脫；抖去

warship/戰(zhàn)艦，戰(zhàn)船

?

So back to the brink they went. While Mr Abe was still in Tehran, two tankers (one operated by a Japanese company) came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, an important choke point for international shipping. America blamed Iran, which denied responsibility. Iran then declared, again, that it would soon abrogate parts of the nuclear deal by exceeding limits on its stockpile of nuclear fuel and, perhaps, enriching uranium to levels closer to those of a bomb. In response, America sent 1,000 more troops to the region. On June 20th Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps shot down an American military drone.

所以他們回到了矛盾尖端。當(dāng)安倍還在德黑蘭時(shí)，兩艘油輪(其中一艘由日本公司運(yùn)營(yíng))在霍爾木茲海峽遭到攻擊?；魻柲酒澓{是國(guó)際航運(yùn)的一個(gè)重要咽喉。美國(guó)指責(zé)伊朗，伊朗否認(rèn)對(duì)此負(fù)責(zé)。伊朗隨后再次宣布，它將很快廢除核協(xié)議的部分內(nèi)容，手段是對(duì)其核燃料儲(chǔ)備超過(guò)限制，或許還會(huì)將鈾濃縮到接近核彈的水平。作為回應(yīng)，美國(guó)向該地區(qū)增派了1000多名士兵。6月20日，伊朗革命衛(wèi)隊(duì)擊落了一架美國(guó)軍用無(wú)人機(jī)。

詞匯

Abrogate/廢除；取消

Stockpile/庫(kù)存；積蓄

Uranium/鈾

?

Spoiling for a fight

渴望一場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)斗

Iran’s leaders appear to have ditched their “strategic patience” as they wait for Mr Trump’s term to end. Iranian drones and missiles, fired by its proxies in Yemen and Iraq, have struck pipelines and airports in Saudi Arabia, an Iranian rival, and American bases in Iraq. (Last month America pulled all “non-essential” staff from Iraq.) Iran has also threatened to unleash a tide of refugees and drugs on Europe by relaxing security on its Afghan border. The Guards, who answer to Mr Khamenei—not the elected president, Hassan Rouhani—are increasingly calling the shots. “We’ve never seen Iran so aggressive,” says an unusually nervous Emirati official.

在等待特朗普任期結(jié)束之際，伊朗領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人似乎已經(jīng)放棄了他們的“戰(zhàn)略耐心”。伊朗在也門和伊拉克的代理人發(fā)射的無(wú)人機(jī)和導(dǎo)彈襲擊了伊朗的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手沙特阿拉伯的輸油管道和機(jī)場(chǎng)，以及美國(guó)在伊拉克的基地。(上個(gè)月，美國(guó)從伊拉克撤出了所有“非必要”人員。)伊朗還威脅要解除阿富汗邊境的安全措施，釋放大批難民和毒品進(jìn)入歐洲。聽(tīng)命于柯梅尼先生而非民選總統(tǒng)哈桑?魯哈尼的警衛(wèi)們，正越來(lái)越多地發(fā)號(hào)施令。一位異常緊張的阿聯(lián)酋官員表示:“我們從未見(jiàn)過(guò)伊朗如此咄咄逼人?！?/p>

詞匯

Ditch/擺脫，拋棄，丟棄；

Refugee/難民

Proxy/代理人

?

The show of strength by Iran smacks of desperation. Mr Trump pulled America out of the nuclear deal last year and has since tried to undermine it by threatening sanctions on any country that buys Iranian oil. This month he imposed fresh restrictions on Iranian petrochemicals. The administration is also trying to block all of Iran’s efforts to enrich uranium, even to levels allowed under the deal. Meanwhile, the Europe Union’s effort to keep Iran in the deal by creating a mechanism that allows European firms to bypass American sanctions has fizzled. Few businesses want to trade with Iran if it costs them access to America’s market.

伊朗的實(shí)力展示帶有絕望的意味。去年，特朗普讓美國(guó)退出了核協(xié)議，并威脅對(duì)任何購(gòu)買伊朗石油的國(guó)家實(shí)施制裁，試圖破壞該協(xié)議。本月，他對(duì)伊朗的石化產(chǎn)品實(shí)施了新的限制。奧巴馬政府還試圖阻止伊朗所有的鈾濃縮努力，即使是達(dá)到協(xié)議允許的水平。與此同時(shí)，歐盟試圖通過(guò)建立一種機(jī)制，讓歐洲公司繞過(guò)美國(guó)的制裁，讓伊朗留在協(xié)議中，但這一努力已經(jīng)失敗。如果進(jìn)入美國(guó)市場(chǎng)要付出代價(jià)，幾乎沒(méi)有企業(yè)愿意與伊朗進(jìn)行貿(mào)易。

詞匯

Smack/滋味；跡象；

Bypass/繞過(guò)，避開(kāi)；

?

The impact has been devastating. In the 2018-19 fiscal year Iran’s GDP shrunk by 4.9% compared with the year before, says the government. Industrial production has fallen almost as sharply as that of oil. Food prices have tripled and supplies of medicine are diminishing. Gloating rivals in the Gulf have readily met the shortfall left by Iran’s dwindling exports of oil.

其影響是毀滅性的。政府說(shuō)，在2018-19財(cái)政年度，伊朗的GDP比前一年下降了4.9%。工業(yè)生產(chǎn)的下降幅度幾乎與石油一樣大。食品價(jià)格上漲了兩倍，藥品供應(yīng)也在減少。幸災(zāi)樂(lè)禍的海灣競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手已經(jīng)準(zhǔn)備好填補(bǔ)伊朗石油出口減少造成的缺口。

詞匯

Shortfall/差額；缺少

Dwindling/減少；變小

?

Iran wants to show that Mr Trump’s actions have costs for others, too. Officials in Tehran have repeatedly said that if Iran is not allowed to export oil, then no oil will pass through the Gulf. The attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, sent the price of the black stuff (and shipping insurance) upwards. Attacks by Iranian proxies threaten to disrupt the economies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. “Iran’s leaders are showing that they have the potential to be crazier than America,” says Vali Nasr, an Iranian-American academic.

伊朗希望表明，特朗普的行動(dòng)也會(huì)讓其他人付出代價(jià)。德黑蘭官員多次表示，如果不允許伊朗出口石油，那么就不會(huì)有石油通過(guò)海灣。世界五分之一的石油供應(yīng)都要經(jīng)過(guò)霍爾木茲海峽，而霍爾木茲海峽對(duì)商業(yè)航運(yùn)的襲擊，使得這種黑色物質(zhì)(以及航運(yùn)保險(xiǎn))的價(jià)格上漲。伊朗代理人的襲擊威脅到沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯聯(lián)合酋長(zhǎng)國(guó)的經(jīng)濟(jì)。伊朗裔美國(guó)學(xué)者瓦利?納斯?fàn)?Vali Nasr)表示:“伊朗領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人正在表明，他們有可能比美國(guó)更瘋狂?！?/p>

詞匯

Proxy/代理人

But a growing and increasingly truculent segment of Iran’s population doubts the standoff is worth it. Most Iranians dislike Mr Trump. Nevertheless, if shaking his hand would get him to relieve the pressure, they wish their leaders would do it. “We need to negotiate to survive,” pleads a housewife who haggles for bargains in Tehran’s bazaar.

但是，越來(lái)越多、越來(lái)越好斗的伊朗人懷疑這場(chǎng)對(duì)峙是否值得。大多數(shù)伊朗人不喜歡特朗普。然而，如果握手能讓他減輕壓力，他們希望他們的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人能這樣做。“我們需要談判來(lái)生存，”一位在德黑蘭集市上討價(jià)還價(jià)的家庭主婦懇求道。

詞匯

Truculent/好斗的；野蠻的

Standoff/ ?和局；僵持；冷淡；平衡

bazaar/ 集市；市場(chǎng)

?

Delegations of Swiss, Germans, Omanis, Qataris, Iraqis and Russians have come and gone from Tehran, failing to stop the cycle of escalation. America, says Mr Khamenei, must lift its sanctions before talks can take place. He rejects Mr Trump’s demand for a permanent halt to Iran’s nuclear programme and an end to Iran’s funding of proxies in the region. Instead of the flashy summit the president craves, Mr Khamenei prefers that any meetings occur in private.

瑞士、德國(guó)、阿曼、卡塔爾、伊拉克和俄羅斯的代表團(tuán)在德黑蘭進(jìn)進(jìn)出出，未能阻止局勢(shì)不斷升級(jí)。哈梅內(nèi)伊說(shuō)，美國(guó)必須在會(huì)談開(kāi)始前解除制裁。他拒絕了特朗普提出的永久停止伊朗核計(jì)劃、停止伊朗資助該地區(qū)代理人的要求。哈梅內(nèi)伊更希望任何會(huì)議都在私下舉行，而不是像總統(tǒng)所渴望的那種華麗的峰會(huì)。

詞匯

Escalation/ ?增加；擴(kuò)大

?

The Pentagon and the Guards are still talking behind the scenes. On June 11th Iran released a Lebanese citizen charged with espionage who had lived in America for much of his life. Some interpreted it as a gesture by Iran’s hardliners aimed at easing tensions and improving ties. For now it appears not to have worked.

五角大樓和警衛(wèi)仍在幕后進(jìn)行談判。6月11日，伊朗釋放了一名被控從事間諜活動(dòng)的黎巴嫩公民。一些人認(rèn)為這是伊朗強(qiáng)硬派為緩和緊張局勢(shì)和改善關(guān)系而做出的姿態(tài)。目前看來(lái)，這似乎沒(méi)有奏效。

詞匯

Espionage/ ?間諜；間諜活動(dòng)；