美国国家公共电台 NPR--How can the U.S. support protesters in Iran? Activists want a pause in nuclear talks

How can the U.S. support protesters in Iran? Activists¹ want a pause in nuclear talks

Transcript²

The Biden administration is trying to make it easier for tech companies to connect Iranians to the internet. It is one way they're supporting the protest movement sparked by the death of a woman.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

President Biden says he stands with the women of Iran and anti-government protesters. Activists say the U.S. could do more and pull out of the nuclear talks with Iran. Here's NPR's Michele Kelemen.

MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE³: When the Obama administration negotiated the nuclear deal with Iran, it faced a lot of criticism for being too hesitant to support Iranian street protests that were crushed by the regime. Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says U.S. officials learned a lesson. And he calls it a no-brainer to support Iranians demanding basic rights now.

KARIM SADJADPOUR: This is one of those black-and-white issues in international relations, which doesn't come along very often.

KELEMEN: But the U.S. is still being too timid, says Hadi Ghaemi, who runs the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran.

HADI GHAEMI: The entire administration's Iran policy has been just about the nuclear negotiations⁴. And I think now they're caught a little bit flatfooted on how to react.

KELEMEN: The Biden administration has been trying to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, which capped Iran's program in exchange for sanctions relief before the Trump⁵ administration pulled out. Ghaemi says his sources are worried about the Iranian government getting sanctions relief now as it cracks down on protesters with increasing brutality⁶.

GHAEMI: Of course, we all want to see Iran's nuclear activities come under control. But at the same time, a huge infusion⁷ of cash to this government at this moment, I believe, is the wrong policy.

KELEMEN: The State Department says it's appalled⁸ by Iran's crackdown on protesters and is imposing⁹ targeted sanctions. The Biden administration is also allowing U.S. tech companies to provide messaging services and other software to Iranians.

GISSOU NIA: It's a welcome move. But it's coming, you know, years after we've been repeating this call.

KELEMEN: That's Iranian American human rights lawyer Gissou Nia, who's with the Atlantic Council in Washington. She's long complained that U.S. sanctions have made it harder for Iranians to freely use the internet.

NIA: Some of them require a paid subscription¹⁰. Iranians don't necessarily have credit cards that are connected to the global financial system to be able to subscribe¹¹. So really, what I'd like to see happen is that the U.S. government try to ensure that these services could be offered without cost.

KELEMEN: She says the U.S. could also lead the way at the United Nations to set up a mechanism¹² like the ones tracking abuses in Syria and Myanmar.

NIA: Those bodies are meant to document these violations¹³, ensure that evidence is preserved and admissible in a courtroom.

KELEMEN: That's for future accountability. For now, it's hard for anyone to predict how the protests will play out. Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment says either the regime crushes this movement and stays in power or the protesters manage to change the regime.

SADJADPOUR: There is this huge disconnect between a regime which is ruled by old, traditional men and a society which is overwhelmingly young, modern people who have a fundamentally different vision for Iran. They want to be like South Korea, not North Korea.

KELEMEN: On one issue important to the U.S., there was a little movement today when Iran allowed an elderly U.S. citizen, Baquer Namazi, to leave the country for surgery. His son is still held in Iran. In the bigger picture, Sadjadpour says, the U.S. has to approach Iran as it did the Soviet¹⁴ Union, supporting dissidents even as the two sides negotiated arms deals.

Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 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。

6 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

7 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

8 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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。

10 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

11 subscribe   

vi.(to)订阅，订购；同意；vt.捐助，赞助

参考例句：

• I heartily subscribe to that sentiment.我十分赞同那个观点。
• The magazine is trying to get more readers to subscribe.该杂志正大力发展新订户。

12 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

13 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

14 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。