2006年VOA标准英语-Iran Sanctions Resolution Faces Obstacles at UN

By Peter Heinlein
United Nations
26 October 2006 

U.N. Security Council

The attempt by the United States and European powers to impose U.N. sanctions on Iran for its nuclear activities is running into obstacles. Even the strongest backers of a proposed sanctions resolution disagree about how tough it should be.

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The United States served notice Wednesday that it wants tougher sanctions on Iran than those proposed in a draft Security Council resolution proposed by European powers Britain, France and Germany.

The European draft was circulated among the five permanent Council members this week, and consultations¹ are scheduled to begin Thursday. Excerpts² shown to VOA call for mild sanctions, including a ban on missile and nuclear technology transfers to Iran.

The United States and the European powers favor prompt action to punish Iran for failing to heed³ the Council's demand to halt uranium enrichment. France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere called the measure a firm but reversible response to Iran's defiance⁴ of previous Council resolutions. "It is a response which is focused. It's firm and focuses on sensitive nuclear activities, and we always said that should Iran change its position and resume its suspension of enrichment, Council will lift the sanctions, so it is reversible," he said.

Japan's U.N. Ambassador Kenzo Oshima, who holds the Council presidency⁵ for October, predicts sanctions will not be imposed this month. He says forging a consensus⁶ is likely to be much more difficult and lengthy⁷ than the penalties on North Korea adopted earlier in the month. "Two sanctions resolutions would be a bit much for one presidency," he said.

Security Council diplomats⁸ say one focus of the consultations is a U.S. demand that the sanctions cover the sale of fuel and technology for the Bushehr nuclear reactor⁹ Russia is building in southwestern Iran. In an attempt to gain Russia's support, the current draft exempts¹⁰ Bushehr from the sanctions, despite U.S. calls that the project be halted entirely¹¹.

Moscow's deputy U.N. Ambassador Konstantin Dolgov told VOA Wednesday the Bushehr plant is being built in full compliance¹² with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other international obligations.

"On Bushehr, we said it many times. It is continuing, because it is in full respect of our obligations under NPT, but secondly¹³ it is absolutely transparent¹⁴. It has nothing to do with the remaining issues on the Iranian nuclear file," he said.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier said Moscow would block any effort to penalize¹⁵ Iran for its nuclear program. In an interview last week, Lavrov said there is no evidence Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

Chinese diplomats Wednesday also signalled Beijing's opposition¹⁶ to sanctions. A senior official at China's U.N. mission said it is "premature¹⁷" to speak of imposing¹⁸ penalties on Iran.

1 consultations   

n.磋商（会议）( consultation的名词复数 )；商讨会；协商会；查找

参考例句：

• Consultations can be arranged at other times by appointment. 磋商可以通过预约安排在其他时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Consultations are under way. 正在进行磋商。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 excerpts   

n.摘录，摘要( excerpt的名词复数 )；节选（音乐，电影）片段

参考例句：

• Some excerpts from a Renaissance mass are spatchcocked into Gluck's pallid Don Juan music. 一些文艺复光时期的弥撒的选节被不适当地加入到了格鲁克平淡无味的唐璜音乐中。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is editing together excerpts of some of his films. 他正在将自己制作的一些电影的片断进行剪辑合成。 来自辞典例句

3 heed   

v.注意，留意；n.注意，留心

参考例句：

• You must take heed of what he has told.你要注意他所告诉的事。
• For the first time he had to pay heed to his appearance.这是他第一次非得注意自己的外表不可了。

4 defiance   

n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗

参考例句：

• He climbed the ladder in defiance of the warning.他无视警告爬上了那架梯子。
• He slammed the door in a spirit of defiance.他以挑衅性的态度把门砰地一下关上。

5 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

6 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

7 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

8 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》

9 reactor   

n.反应器；反应堆

参考例句：

• The atomic reactor generates enormous amounts of thermal energy.原子反应堆发出大量的热能。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules.在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

10 exempts   

使免除[豁免]( exempt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• This privilege, however, exempts only predecisional documents. 然而，此特权只免除那些文件在作出决定之前的披露责任。
• Function effectiveness: After then special-purpose, exempts the flushing formula. 功能效用：便后专用，免冲洗配方。

11 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。

12 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。

13 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

14 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

15 penalize   

vt.对…处以刑罚，宣告…有罪；处罚

参考例句：

• It would be unfair to penalize those without a job.失业人员待遇低下是不公平的。
• The association decided not to penalize you for the race.赛马协会决定对你不予处罚。

16 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

17 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

18 imposing   

adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的

参考例句：

• The fortress is an imposing building.这座城堡是一座宏伟的建筑。
• He has lost his imposing appearance.他已失去堂堂仪表。