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伊朗要求缓减制裁

World powers and Iran are gearing up for a new round of talks in Geneva later this month about Tehran's nuclear program.  The United States and its allies want Iran to take concrete steps to show it is not and will not pursue nuclear weapons. But Iran wants crippling international sanctions eased.

世界大国和伊朗在日内瓦积极筹备在这个月晚些时候举行新一轮谈判。美国及其盟国希望伊朗采取实质性步骤，表明现在不会，将来也不会寻求核武器，而伊朗则希望国际社会缓减打击沉重的制裁。

It's been hammered time and time again by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whether on his official Twitter feed or during his speech at the United Nations. Iran's new president said it's time for economic sanctions to end. "These sanctions are violent, pure and simple," he said.

不管是在官方推特，还是在联大讲话中，伊朗总统鲁哈尼一次又一次地强调，现在应该结束经济制裁。伊朗总统鲁哈尼说：“简单明了地说，这些制裁太凶猛。”

For the Iranian people, the international sanctions have been devastating¹.

对伊朗人民来说，国际制裁是一场灾难。

Iran's currency, the rial, has nose-dived since 2011, losing more than 80 percent of its value compared to the U.S. dollar.

自从2011年起，伊朗货币里亚尔暴跌，和美元的兑换率下降了80%以上。

The price of consumer goods has spiked², up about 40 percent. Oil exports have dried up - costing Iran an estimated $100 million a day. And unemployment is rising, some estimates putting the jobless rate for young people at close to 30 percent.

而消费品价格大涨，上升了大约40%。石油出口停止了，导致伊朗每天损失大约1亿美元。失业率上升，据估计，年轻人的失业率将近30%。

It's all putting pressure on Rouhani to make a deal, said Iran analyst³ Michael Singh of the Washington Institute.

伊朗问题分析人士迈克?辛格说，这些压力都促使鲁哈尼达成协议。

“Iran desperately⁴ needs sanctions relief.  It’s not going to get better for Iran in a year, for example.  What Rouhani intends to do will be even more necessary in a year than it is today,” he said.

辛格说：“伊朗迫不及待地要解除制裁，再过一年会对伊朗更不利，鲁哈尼现在试图想做的事，一年后会比今天更有必要。”

But getting relief will not be easy - a point driven home by U.S. lawmakers at a recent hearing on Iran.

不过解除制裁并不容易。在最近一次伊朗问题的听证会上，美国国会议员明确指出了这一点。

"While we welcome Iran's diplomatic overtures⁵, they cannot be used to buy time," said Senator Robert Menenzez of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

参议院外交关系委员会的参议员罗伯特?梅南德兹说：“我们欢迎伊朗的外交尝试，不过他们不能以此来拖延时间。”

But President Rouhani has repeatedly insisted that Iran retains the right to enrich uranium.

可是鲁哈尼总统一再坚持，伊朗有权提炼浓缩铀。

David Albright, at the Institute for Science and International Security, said that didn't sit well with the U.S. and other major powers.

科学和国际安全研究所的大卫?奥尔布赖特说，这一点是美国和其他主要国家不能接受的。

“From the Iranian point of view, they may be going through a sticker shock right now.  Those sanctions aren’t coming off anytime soon,” he said.

奥尔布赖特说：“从伊朗人的立场看，昂贵的代价可能让他们震惊，制裁不会很快解除。”

Which means President Rouhani's biggest challenge may be dealing⁶ with everyday Iranians who are feeling increasingly squeezed.

“He [Rouhani] is going to have to decide if he’s going to render himself increasing unpopular with his own people by continuing a nuclear weapons program that has led to great suffering for Iran,” said Michael O'Hanlon at the Brookings Institution.

All of this leaving Iranians desperate for change stuck in a continuing cycle of economic hardship as the Iranian hierarchy⁷ decides how to play its next move.