VOA标准英语2008年-Iranian Parliament Elects Larijani as Speaker

By Challiss McDonough
Cairo
01 June 2008

Iranian lawmakers have picked former nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani as the new speaker of parliament. He is seen as a key conservative rival to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and may use his post to launch a presidential campaign for next year. VOA Correspondent Challiss McDonough has more from our Middle East bureau in Cairo.
　

Ali Larijani, 01 Jun 2008

Iran's new parliament elected Ali Larijani as temporary speaker last week, but has now voted to give him the job for a full year.

Larijani is seen as a key rival to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from within the president's conservative movement. He resigned from his position as Iran's top nuclear negotiator last year and was elected to parliament in March. Some believe he could use his new post to challenge Mr. Ahmadinejad in next year's presidential election.

Analysts¹ say the conservative camp has become divided into competing factions² over two main issues - Mr. Ahmadinejad's economic policies and his aggressively anti-Western approach to the nuclear dispute, which his critics say has further isolated³ Iran.

Larijani and other so-called "moderate conservatives" agree with the president about Iran's right to pursue nuclear technology, but they have advocated more dialogue with the West.

But Mr. Ahmadinejad's economic policies - and the skyrocketing inflation they are blamed for - are believed to have fueled much of the discontent within the conservative movement.

Kuwait-based political scientist and regional affairs expert Mohammad El-Sayed Selim said Larijani's new position is one with significant influence.

"I think the election Ali Larijani to some extent weakens the grip of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on power," said Mohammad El-Sayed Selim. "Now Ali Larijani is in a very good position to question [Mr.] Ahmadinejad's economic policies, and he is quite critical of his economic policies."

Selim adds that the new parliamentary speaker will also be in a position to voice his opinions on Iran's nuclear program. Larijani has already taken advantage of that, saying in his first speech to lawmakers on Wednesday that parliament may use its authority to revise Iran's cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

An Iranian foreign ministry⁴ spokesman echoed that warning. Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said Iran could set "new limits" on its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The comments follow last week's IAEA report to the board of governors, which said Iran could be withholding⁵ key information about high-explosives tests and its missile program.

The agency says it has not received sufficient explanations from Iran about intelligence reports indicating that Iran was working on a covert⁶ nuclear weapons program before 2003.

In the past week, several Iranian officials have denounced the IAEA report, and have called the intelligence documents forgeries⁷.

1 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。

2 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

3 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 withholding   

扣缴税款

参考例句：

• She was accused of withholding information from the police. 她被指控对警方知情不报。
• The judge suspected the witness was withholding information. 法官怀疑见证人在隐瞒情况。

6 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

7 forgeries   

伪造( forgery的名词复数 )； 伪造的文件、签名等

参考例句：

• The whole sky was filled with forgeries of the brain. 整个天空充满了头脑里臆造出来的膺品。
• On inspection, the notes proved to be forgeries. 经过检查，那些钞票证明是伪造的。