VOA标准英语2009年-Gates: US Wants Iran Answer on Nuclear Tal

Israeli Defense¹ Minister Ehud Barak has told visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates no option is off the table as Israel prepares a possible strike against Iran's suspected nuclear facilities.
　
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates (r) and Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, 27 Jul 2009

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is among a list of several top Washington officials who are visiting Israel this week.

Their aim is to work out disagreements that newspapers here say have put U.S.-Israeli relations at their worst in years. Those disagreements center on U.S. calls for Israel to freeze construction on Jewish settlements on lands claimed by the Palestinians.

The subject of Iran and its nuclear ambitions dominated talks Monday between Mr. Gates and the Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak. At a news conference, Mr. Barak indicated the Jewish State is prepared to launch a preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.

"No options should be removed from the table in spite of the fact that at this stage, a priority should be given still to diplomacy," he added.

Gates said the U.S. and Israel are in full agreement on the negative consequences of having Iran obtain nuclear weapons capabilities².

"I think we also agree that it is important to take every opportunity to try and persuade the Iranians to reconsider what is actually in their own security interests," said Gates.
　
US Mideast envoy³ George Mitchell, left, with Syrian President Bashar Assad, in Damascus, Syria, 26 Jul 2009

Gates said the Obama administration wants to see a positive response from Iran soon.

"This is not an open-ended offer to engage. We're very mindful of the possibility that the Iranians would simply try to run out the clock," he said.

Also in the region is U.S. special envoy George Mitchell, was in Cairo on Monday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Mitchell visited Israel on Sunday, and also Syria, where he listed U.S. aims in the region.

"Peace between Palestinians and Israelis, between Syria and Israel, and between Lebanon and Israel, and - course - ultimately the full normalization⁴ of relations between Israel and all of the countries in the region," said Mitchell.

Mitchell met with Syrian leaders in Damascus on Sunday as well as with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.

Mitchell's schedule on Monday included shuttling to the West Bank town of Ramallah for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

1 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

2 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

3 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

4 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。