2006年VOA标准英语-Iran Says It Seeks 'New Solutions' to Cris

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
08 May 2006

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to the crowd during his tour to the city of Zanjan (April 27, 2006)  
  
Iran says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has sent a letter to President Bush, proposing new solutions to resolve tensions between their two countries. It is the first time in 26 years that there has been known communication at the highest level between Iran and the United States.

-------------------------------------------

An Iranian-government spokesman said President Ahmadinejad's letter to President Bush was delivered to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which has handled U.S. interests in Iran since the break in U.S.-Iranian relations in 1980.

The spokesman would not disclose the contents of the letter, but he said it proposes new ways of getting out of the current fragile situation of the world.

Cairo University political scientist Amal Hamada says any kind of direct communication is significant after 26 years of nothing but back-channel talks.

"So if there is a chance of direct communication between the two executive leaders of the two countries, that would definitely have new hopes for new options," he said.

News of the letter came as the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany were preparing to meet in New York to discuss the standoff over Iran's nuclear program. Britain, France and the United States are backing a resolution that would require Iran to end its uranium-enrichment program, and could trigger sanctions if Iran fails to comply. The Security Council's other two veto-wielding nations, Russia and China, oppose sanctions and want more diplomacy¹.

London-based analyst² Ali Nourizadeh, the director of the Center for Arab-Iranian Studies, says based on what he has learned of the letter's contents regarding the nuclear issue, it is unlikely to get a sympathetic reading from the American president.

"We know President Bush has got some condition in order to open up towards Iran," he said. "The first one is, Iran has to give up its enrichment program. In this letter there is no suggestion that Iran is ready to do that."

Although the letter's contents are not public, Norizadeh says he has spoken with one of Mr. Ahmadinejad's close advisors³ in Tehran who was familiar with the general topics it deals with.

"There is no new idea in Mr. Ahmadinejad's letter. He is repeating what he has already said. He wants the Americans out of Iraq," Norizadeh said. "He wants the Americans [to] stop supporting Israel. He wants the Palestinians ... to have all Palestine. And he wants all these organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad to be recognized by the Americans. So I am sure the Americans are not going to accept this."

Other Iran specialists agree that the letter - whatever its contents - is unlikely to prompt a positive response from the American administration.

Mark Fitzpatrick is a former State Department official who now heads the non-proliferation program at the London-based Institute for International Strategic Studies.

"I think the response from the United States may be negative," he said. "There is a sense that talking with this government, engaging with this regime in Iran would be rewarding bad behavior, would be empowering the worst elements of the Islamic republic. So there would be a reluctance⁴ to respond positively⁵. But on the other hand, there may be a realization⁶ that the options for resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis are not looking very good."

Iran has repeatedly vowed⁷ to reject any U.N. resolution requiring it to freeze its nuclear program. The Iranian president has threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the Security Council imposes sanctions.

Iran says it aims only to produce peaceful nuclear energy. The United States, Britain and France believe Tehran is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

4 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

5 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

6 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

7 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。