VOA标准英语2010年-US: Lula's Tehran Visit is Last Chance

A senior U.S. State Department official said Thursday that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's visit to Tehran this weekend probably is the last chance for Iran to respond to international concerns about its nuclear program before more U.N. sanctions are imposed.  The State Department official said he believes Iran will not change course unless there is a fourth round of sanctions. 

State Department officials say they do not oppose engagement with Iran by current Security Council member countries Turkey and Brazil.

But they say the United States is losing patience with what they see as fruitless overtures¹ to Tehran, and they say they believe that sanctions should be imposed without delay if the long-anticipated visit to Tehran by President Lula fails to produce results.

A senior official who spoke² to reporters here called the Lula visit "perhaps the last big shot at engagement" with Tehran.  He said Iranian authorities have used meetings with countries like Brazil and Turkey to appear to offer what he termed "a veneer³ of cooperation" while really offering nothing in terms of a meaningful response on the nuclear issue.

U.S. officials say Iran's uranium enrichment program is weapons-related, despite Tehran's expression of peaceful intent.  They say their suspicions are reinforced by Iran's refusal to respond to confidence building proposals by world powers.

They say they do not think Iran will engage seriously in the absence of what would be a fourth round of sanctions by the U.N. Security Council.

State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said the United States welcomes the visit by President Lula, but that it is doubtful it will yield anything useful.

"We ourselves are skeptical⁴ that Iran is going to change course," he said. "And certainly coming out of President Lula's trip to Tehran this weekend, we look forward to hearing the results of that discussion and any others that might occur.  And at that point, I think, we'll understand what Iran is either willing or unwilling⁵ to do.  And at that point, we believe there should be consequences for a failure to respond."

Crowley said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the nuclear issue by telephone on Thursday with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglo, whose government has also been pursuing nuclear mediation⁶ with Iran.

The senior official said the United States believes Iran might invite leaders from Turkey and perhaps other countries to join in meetings in Tehran with President Lula in what would be seen here as another move by Iran to ease pressure for sanctions.

Last week in New York, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki invited diplomats⁷ from all 15 U.N. Security Council member countries, including the United States, to an unusual dinner meeting.

Spokesman Crowley said Mottaki offered nothing new at the dinner.  He said the Iranian official told the diplomats that even if Tehran accepted a big power offer of last November to export some of its enriched uranium to be reprocessed as fuel for a research reactor⁸, the broader Iranian enrichment drive would continue.

Negotiations⁹ among the five permanent Security Council member states on a new sanctions resolution have been underway in New York for several weeks.

Crowley said the United States has a sense of urgency on the sanctions and expects that a draft resolution will be ready for presentation "in the next few weeks."
 

1 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 veneer   

n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰

参考例句：

• For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack.她温文尔雅的外表第一次露出破绽。
• The panel had a veneer of gold and ivory.这木板上面镶饰了一层金和象牙。

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

6 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

7 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》

8 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。

9 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。