VOA慢速英语--欧盟指责伊朗违反核协议

EU Criticizes Iran Over Nuclear Violations¹

Britain, France and Germany are increasing pressure on Iran to end its violations of an international nuclear deal.

The Europeans say they want to settle differences through negotiations². But they admit the process could lead to a return of United Nations sanctions against Iran.

The European Union (EU) members and Iran signed the nuclear agreement in 2015. Also signing were China, Russia and the United States.

Britain, France and Germany wrote a letter to the EU's foreign policy chief. The letter stated that they had no choice but to use the deal's "dispute mechanism³" because of Iranian violations of the agreement.

The three said they rejected Iran's argument that Iran was justified⁴ to violate the deal because the United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

"We have therefore been left with no choice, given Iran's actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments," the EU members said in a statement.

Iran's government reacts

Hours later, Iran's Foreign Ministry⁵ warned of a "serious and strong" reaction to the European move.

However, a foreign ministry spokesman official said Iran was "fully⁶ ready to answer any good will and constructive⁷ effort" that keeps the nuclear deal in place. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported his comments.

EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell said the pressure from Europe does not mean Iran will face new international sanctions.

The aim of the move by France, Germany and Britain is "to return (Iran) to full compliance⁸...of this agreement, he said.

The three countries said that they want to arrive at a solution using "diplomatic dialogue" and made no threat of sanctions in their statement.

They also tried to distance themselves from the sanctions declared by the United States. U.S. officials have said those measures are part of a "pressure" campaign against Iran.

"Our three countries are not joining a campaign to (put) maximum pressure against Iran," the Europeans said. "Our hope is to bring Iran back into full compliance with its commitments."

The nuclear deal's dispute resolution mechanism

The 2015 nuclear deal is known as the Joint⁹ Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as JCPOA. It seeks to prevent Iran from making a nuclear weapon by setting limits on its nuclear program in exchange for economic actions, such as easing sanctions. Iran's government has said it does not want a nuclear weapon.

Under its dispute resolution mechanism, countries have 30 days to settle their dispute; however, the time limit can be extended. If the problem cannot be solved, the issue could be brought to the United Nations Security Council. The council's members could decide to re-establish the sanctions that had been removed under the terms of the deal.

U.S. President Donald Trump¹⁰ pulled the U.S. government out of the nuclear agreement in May 2018. He said the deal should be re-negotiated because it did not set limitations on Iran's ballistic missile program or its involvement in conflicts in other countries. Since then he has put back American sanctions, which have hurt Iran's economy.

To answer the U.S. decision, Iran has slowly pulled back from the agreement. Iran wants to pressure the other countries involved to provide economic incentives¹¹ to answer the American sanctions.

China and Russia had been against using the dispute mechanism. However, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in a statement that the three European countries "could no longer leave the growing Iranian violations of the nuclear agreement unanswered."

"Our goal is clear: we want to...come to a diplomatic solution within the agreement," Maas said.

With the growing worries that the deal cannot be saved, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is suggesting the agreement could be somehow re-negotiated to answer some of Trump's worries.

"Let's work together to replace the JCPOA with the Trump deal," he told the BBC.

I'm Dorothy Gundy.

1 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。

2 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。

3 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。

4 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

8 compliance   

n.顺从；服从；附和；屈从

参考例句：

• I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
• She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 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。

11 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