美国国家公共电台 NPR Iran's U.N. Ambassador: Strike On U.S. Bases Was 'Measured, P

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A top Iranian diplomat¹ says his country has finished its retaliation² against the United States. But it's worth listening carefully to the way he says it. A wider conflict between the two nations seems certain to continue.

The Iranian diplomat spoke³ to our colleague Steve Inskeep.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Majid Takht Ravanchi is Iran's ambassador to the United Nations. He spoke yesterday afternoon after his country launched missiles at the U.S. and its allies in Iraq. Iran called it retaliation for the U.S. drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

As Ambassador Ravanchi came to the line in New York, news bulletins were flowing into our newsroom. In Baghdad, rockets were landing in the green zone near the U.S. Embassy. In Washington, a U.S. general said it was too early to tell if Iran's attacks were done. So we asked Ambassador Ravanchi to tell us.

Is Iran's retaliation against the United States finished?

MAJID TAKHT RAVANCHI: What we have said is that we took a measured, proportionate response to the terrorist assassination⁴ of our top general, Qassem Soleimani, last night. And as far as Iran is concerned, that action was concluded last night. So it depends on the United States. If the U.S. ventures to attack Iran again, definitely - proportionate response will be taken in response to that attack.

INSKEEP: OK. And you said that this concluded the retaliation. So if there are people concerned about other forms of attack, such as cyberattacks on U.S. interests or attacks by allies of Iran throughout the region, you're saying Iran would not endorse⁵ that. You are done.

TAKHT RAVANCHI: We are responsible for the actions that we take. We do not consider any sort of actions to be taken by others. The action was taken in accordance with our rights, which was proportionate and which was in response to the killing⁶ of Qassem Soleimani.

INSKEEP: When you said you don't take responsibility for the actions of others, are you saying it is entirely⁷ possible that Iraqi militias⁸ aligned⁹ with Iran could still lash¹⁰ out and Iran would not accept responsibility for what they're doing?

TAKHT RAVANCHI: I'm not suggesting anything in this regard. We are not responsible for any other people to do whatever they are going to do. So we are - as I said, I'm not suggesting anything to accept or to reject any sort of actions by others.

INSKEEP: Iran's supreme¹¹ leader speaking after this retaliation said the next step was to push the United States out of the region, U.S. forces out of the region. How does Iran intend to do that?

TAKHT RAVANCHI: The people of the region are calling for the U.S. withdrawal¹² from this neighborhood. Just look at the decision of the Iraqi Parliament. The Iraqi Parliament decided¹³ to say to the whole world that there is no place for the U.S. forces in Iraq. The American forces are not welcome in our neighborhood.

INSKEEP: Ambassador, you're correct that Iraq's Parliament did vote to expel forces from Iraq. But we should be clear; they didn't vote to expel the United States from Iraq. They voted to expel foreign forces from Iraq. And that leads us to note that General Soleimani, a member of Iran's military, was in Iraq when he was killed. What was he doing there?

TAKHT RAVANCHI: He was there to help the Iraqi armed forces to fight terrorists at the invitation of the Iraqi government. He was a popular figure not only in Iran but in the neighboring countries because he sacrificed a lot to preserve the territorial¹⁴ integrity and sovereignty of these countries.

INSKEEP: But wasn't General Soleimani the symbol of Iran's involvement in Iraq, which is something that Iraqis have been protesting against in recent months?

TAKHT RAVANCHI: You know, there are different voices within Iraq. But when he was murdered in Iraq, you saw the Iraqi people, how the Iraqi people reacted in anger. He sacrificed himself for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq.

INSKEEP: As you must know, ambassador, the United States asserts that General Soleimani was plotting attacks against Americans, against the United States. Are you able to say if he was plotting such attacks?

TAKHT RAVANCHI: It is the duty of the United States to prove otherwise - I mean, to prove that he was, in fact, plotting to to kill Americans because...

INSKEEP: But I can also ask you. Was he plotting to kill Americans?

TAKHT RAVANCHI: No. He - as I said, he was there in order to help the Iraqi government to better, I mean, fight terrorists - pure and simple. It is...

GREENE: But let's be clear; Iran has defined the United States as terrorists. Was he or his organization planning attacks against the United States or its interests at the time?

TAKHT RAVANCHI: As I said, it is the duty of the United States to provide any evidence. The claim that he was about to kill American citizens cannot be acceptable to all, and it is not being accepted even by the members of Congress. So one cannot accept this claim from the U.S. administration that the threat was imminent¹⁵.

INSKEEP: One final thing, ambassador. President Trump¹⁶, in making his statement responding to Iran's retaliation, began with this sentence, quote, "as long as I am president of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon." Iran has said it doesn't want a nuclear weapon. Is that a statement on which you can agree with the president?

TAKHT RAVANCHI: What I can tell you is that we are not seeking nuclear weapons. It is not in our interest to have nuclear weapons. It is against the religious verdict of our supreme leader. But we cannot accept the fact that the U.S., in contravention of NPT, in contravention of the JCPOA, the resolution 2231 of the U.N. Security Council, is acting¹⁷ to deprive Iran from its rights. So the question should be posed to the U.S. administration when they want to join the international community and act like a normal country in respecting international agreements.

INSKEEP: Majid Takht Ravanchi is Iran's ambassador to the United Nations. He's in New York. Ambassador, thanks so much.

TAKHT RAVANCHI: Thank you, sir.

INSKEEP: Now you here at the end how Iran turns U.S. rhetoric¹⁸ against the U.S. The United States accuses Iran of terrorism. Iran accuses the U.S. of terrorism. The U.S. has said it wants Iran to act like a normal nation. Iran's ambassador just made the same remark about the United States.

1 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

2 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

5 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

10 lash   

v.系牢；鞭打；猛烈抨击；n.鞭打；眼睫毛

参考例句：

• He received a lash of her hand on his cheek.他突然被她打了一记耳光。
• With a lash of its tail the tiger leaped at her.老虎把尾巴一甩朝她扑过来。

11 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

12 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

15 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

16 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。

17 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

18 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。