2007年VOA标准英语-Iran's Crackdown on Visiting Iranian-Americans

By Gary Thomas
Washington
30 May 2007

The news that a fourth Iranian-American may have been arrested in Iran for alleged¹ espionage² has heightened questions about the Tehran government's seemingly contradictory³ behavior.  Iranian and U.S. officials have just completed their first publicly acknowledged high-level meeting to discuss stabilizing⁴ Iraq.  As VOA correspondent Gary Thomas reports, the arrests may be a sign of divisions within Iran's leadership.

Haleh Esfandiari, Director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson Center

The crackdown on Iranian-Americans visiting their native land is both puzzling and ominous⁵ to Western-based analysts⁶ of the Iranian political landscape.

Karim Sadjapour was living and working in Tehran for the International Crisis Group until recently.  He says the atmosphere there has changed markedly in recent months.

"The mood in Iran in terms of the crackdown on political speech and societal openness is as bad as it's been since the early days of the revolution," he said.

The government has accused at least three visiting Iranian-Americans of espionage, including Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East program at the non-governmental Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington.  Also charged are Kian Tajbakhsh, an urban planning consultant⁷ with George Soros' Open Society Institute, and Parnaz Azima, a journalist with the U.S. government-funded Radio Farda.

U.S. officials have emphatically denied that they were engaged in any espionage activity, with White House spokesman Tony Snow Wednesday labeling the allegations "preposterous⁸."

Esfandiari's husband, Shaul Bakhash, who teaches modern Middle Eastern and Iranian history at George Mason University, says he is as perplexed⁹ as anyone else about the matter.

"After all, my wife, as the director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center, has merely organized conferences, meetings, and talks," he said.  "She has brought Iranians, respected Iranian academics and scholars and analysts, to the Wilson Center.  The Iranian government does exactly the same thing in reverse.  Its own research centers invite scholars and academics and the like from the United States, from Europe, from others, to conferences in Iran."

However, some American scholars planning to visit Iran recently for such a conference found their visas suddenly revoked¹⁰.

Bill Samii, an Iran specialist at the Center for Naval¹¹ Analysis, says U.S.-Iran talks on Iraq and the crackdown in Tehran underscore divisions within the secretive circle of Iran's leadership.

"We always get back to this argument about this sort of bifurcated¹² nature of the Iranian governmental system in which you have various factions¹³ and various leaderships or various centers of power pursuing different agendas," he said.  "And I think that that's what we're seeing in this case."

Karim Sadjapour, now with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, says there is what he calls "schizophrenia" in Iran's ruling circles.  He says there are entrenched¹⁴ hardline elements who have vested political and financial interests in maintaining the hostile relationship between Iran and the West.

"So any time you see a movement toward a dialogue with the U.S. or a warming of ties between Iran and the West, you have these hardline elements that aim to scuttle¹⁵ this dialogue," he explained.  "So this is why we may see these things simultaneously¹⁶: at the same time the Iranian government is talking to the U.S. about Iraq, you see the hardliners behind the imprisonment¹⁷ of people like Haleh and Kian to try to torpedo¹⁸ these talks from going forward."

Sadjapour adds that he is sad that it is now too dangerous for him, as an Iranian-American, to go back to Iran.  But he says he now has to be less circumspect¹⁹ in his analysis of Iranian affairs.

"I've resigned myself to the fact that Iran is no longer a safe place to live and work for those of us who are dual²⁰ nationals and those of us who work on issues of U.S.-Iran relations and Iranian internal politics," he added.  "And in some ways, it's liberating²¹ to know that I can't go back.  I feel upset that I am unable to go back.  I still have family.  But in some ways we can be more honest in our analysis because we have to, I think, be very clear in pointing out that the behavior of the Iranian government, and at this moment, is simply unacceptable."

It is not clear when, or even if, any of the accused will face trial.  Bill Samii points out that espionage cases are held before Revolutionary Courts, which have great flexibility²² and discretion²³.

1 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

2 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

3 contradictory   

adj.反驳的，反对的，抗辩的；n.正反对，矛盾对立

参考例句：

• The argument is internally contradictory.论据本身自相矛盾。
• What he said was self-contradictory.他讲话前后不符。

4 stabilizing   

n.稳定化处理[退火]v.（使）稳定， （使）稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
• These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句

5 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

8 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

9 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

10 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

11 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

12 bifurcated   

a.分为两部分

参考例句：

• Over the past 15 years the marketplace for art books has bifurcated. 过去15年里，卖艺术类书籍的市场逐渐分化。
• This bifurcated view was reflected in how U.S. officials described the trip. 这种一分为二的观点也反映在美国官员自己对访华之行的描述上。

13 factions   

组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gens also lives on in the "factions." 氏族此外还继续存在于“factions〔“帮”〕中。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• rival factions within the administration 政府中的对立派别

14 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

15 scuttle   

v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗

参考例句：

• There was a general scuttle for shelter when the rain began to fall heavily.下大雨了，人们都飞跑着寻找躲雨的地方。
• The scuttle was open,and the good daylight shone in.明朗的亮光从敞开的小窗中照了进来。

16 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

17 imprisonment   

n.关押，监禁，坐牢

参考例句：

• His sentence was commuted from death to life imprisonment.他的判决由死刑减为无期徒刑。
• He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment for committing bigamy.他因为犯重婚罪被判入狱一年。

18 torpedo   

n.水雷，地雷；v.用鱼雷破坏

参考例句：

• His ship was blown up by a torpedo.他的船被一枚鱼雷炸毁了。
• Torpedo boats played an important role during World War Two.鱼雷艇在第二次世界大战中发挥了重要作用。

19 circumspect   

adj.慎重的，谨慎的

参考例句：

• She is very circumspect when dealing with strangers.她与陌生人打交道时十分谨慎。
• He was very circumspect in his financial affairs.他对于自己的财务十分细心。

20 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

21 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

22 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

23 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。