美国国家公共电台 NPR--The protests won't lead to regime change, Iran's foreign minister tells NPR

The protests won't lead to regime change, Iran's foreign minister tells NPR

Transcript¹

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian says he is telling Western diplomats³ that the protests in his country will not destabilize Iran.

Protests erupted across dozens of cities in Iran in recent days, triggered by the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody⁴ in mid-September. Tehran's morality police — who roam the streets enforcing dress codes in line with the government's view of Islam — detained Mahsa Amini earlier this month for allegedly violating dress rules. Her family has disputed this claim, but what is undisputed is that Amini died days after being taken into custody.

Her death struck a nerve, with protests spreading to dozens of Iranian cities and gaining world attention through social media despite severe limitations on the internet. Some marchers chanted "Death to the dictator," a slogan against Iran's clerical rule, and in other protests women removed or burned their headscarves, which have been mandatory⁵ for women since the 1979 revolution that imposed Islamic law in the country.

In an interview with Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep in New York City, Amirabdollahian acknowledged the tragedy of Amini's death, but said such incidents happen around the world and downplayed the significance of the nationwide protests.

"I'm assuring them that there is not a big deal going on in Iran," he said of his message to his Western counterparts. "There is not going to be regime change in Iran. Don't play to the emotions of the Iranian people."

The foreign minister insisted that Amini's death is being "seriously investigated," and said Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi — who is among the senior officials promising⁶ a full investigation⁷ — had called Amini's family. At the same time, Amirabdollahian cast many protests as a product of foreign media and outside agitation⁸, though they appear to be widespread in his country.

Security officials have been trying to suppress the unrest, restricting internet access, beating, arresting, and in some cases killing⁹ protestors. But broader frustrations¹¹ — ranging from a devastated¹² economy to the alienation¹³ between Iran's government and many younger citizens — have kept the demonstrations¹⁴ going.

Amirabdollahian is a veteran Iranian diplomat² who has been involved with long-running negotiations¹⁵ over its nuclear program. The U.S. is seeking to rejoin an agreement with world powers that limited Iran's nuclear capabilities¹⁶. Those talks seemed near a conclusion this year but appear to have stalled.

One sticking point appears to be Iran's desire for some assurance that any new arrangement would last beyond the Biden administration; President Donald Trump¹⁷ withdrew from the agreement and a future president might do the same. NPR asked him about that, too.

"The American side has taken some steps toward giving us guarantees," he said. "We just need these guarantees to become a little more complete."

Below are some highlights of NPR's questions and the foreign minister's answers, which were delivered through his interpreter.

Interview highlights

Do you believe the protesters have legitimate¹⁸ reasons for concern, for grievances¹⁹?

"Iranian people are emotional people, and they have pure sentiments, and in the early hours after the incident, they protested peacefully, and now everybody is waiting for the judicial²⁰ system's inquiry²¹ to come to an end ... But in the meantime, there have been some outside elements like satellite channels, some websites that have been encouraging people inside Iran to pour into the streets and to turn violent and this is why the demonstrations turned violent and into riots."

As a past visitor to Iran, who's interviewed hundreds of people in Iran, I have trouble believing that this is entirely²² stirred up from the outside. I have heard many people express frustration¹⁰ about the government and about the rules of the government. Do you not think that these protests come from the people or at least some of the people of Iran?

"There are protesters of course and they are expressing what they demand in a peaceful way. But now the most of these people in the streets are being led and guided by well organized channels."

A United Nations official has accused Iran of using excessive force in some cases to suppress the protests. What do you say to that?

"You know, if it is peaceful, they can do it freely. There is not going to be any force used. But if they're going to torch the ambulances or steal money from the banks, then the police have no choice but to react proportionately. What did you do when people tried to seize the Congress? Didn't you block your president's access to Twitter? Was it a democratic act, or was it for your national security reasons?"

I'll just note that a private company knocked the former president off of Twitter, who was still able to speak through many other channels, any number of channels. He's even been interviewed this year on NPR. He is still free to speak. But setting that aside, let's talk about the internet, since you brought it up. Why has the internet been restricted in Iran in the last few days?

"We have an obligation to provide peace and tranquility for our people."

The U.S. State Department has said that it will give priority to licensing²³ those efforts that may promote internet freedom in Iran. Do you believe that you can, in the long term, keep control of the internet in Iran?

"If the United States really, really cares about the Iranian people it can pay attention to the fact that thousands of Iranian kids have died because of sanctions that it has imposed ... Instead of worrying about people's having access to free internet, worry about those people dying every day because of their sanctions."

Let's talk about the nuclear negotiations. I know this is an issue you've been personally involved with for many years. It was thought just a few weeks ago that the sides were very close to an agreement for the United States to rejoin the nuclear deal, but that something has happened that made it less likely. What has gone wrong?

"Overall we have had relatively²⁴ successful and good talks ... we have been involved in exchanging a great deal of messages with the American side. We have come a long way. So now where are we? At at a stage where there are just a couple of issues remaining on the table, but which are very significant and important."

Is it essential from Iran's point of view that the United States provide some kind of guarantee that it would never withdraw from the agreement again?

"The issue of guarantees is very important to us ... I mean, the American side has taken some steps towards giving us guarantees. We just need these guarantees to become a little bit more complete."

The audio interview was produced by Chad Campbell and Vince Pearson and edited by Larry Kaplow and Arezou Rezvani. Rachel Treisman adapted this story for the web.

1 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。

2 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。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

5 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

6 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 agitation   

n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动

参考例句：

• Small shopkeepers carried on a long agitation against the big department stores.小店主们长期以来一直在煽动人们反对大型百货商店。
• These materials require constant agitation to keep them in suspension.这些药剂要经常搅动以保持悬浮状态。

9 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。

10 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

11 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

12 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

13 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

14 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

15 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。

16 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

17 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。

18 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

19 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

21 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

22 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。

23 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句

24 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。