A Warning and an Invitation for Iran

 

In a recent interview, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that there would be dire¹ consequences for Iran if the regime's leaders, Supreme² Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Qasem Soleimani, Commander of the IRGC Quds Force, restarted a nuclear weapons program.

Secretary Pompeo said that United States' allies in the Middle East, as well as European allies with whom the U.S. disagrees about the value of the JCPOA, the Iran nuclear deal, all understand the threat that Iran presents: “whether it's malign³ activity with Hezbollah, or in Yemen, or in Syria, or in Iraq, or its missile program that is launching missiles into airports that Westerners travel through. There is

a unified⁴ understanding of Iran's malevolent⁵ behavior,” he declared, “and it will be an incredibly united world should Iran choose to head down a nuclear weapons path.”

Secretary Pompeo said he is referring to the “moral opprobrium⁶ and economic power” that would be marshalled against the Iranian regime, should its leaders take that path. “I'm not talking to military action here,” he said. “I truly hope that's never the case. It's not in anyone's best interest for that. But make no mistake. President [Donald] Trump⁷ has been very clear: Iran will not get a nuclear weapon nor start its weapons program on this President's watch.”

There is another course available to Iran, Secretary Pompeo noted⁸, which would allow Iran to become a member of the community of nations. He laid the required dozen steps out in detail last month.He reiterated⁹ some of them: “Stop launching missiles into non-hostile nations; cease support of terrorism around the world; don't go down the path of a nuclear weapons system. The asks from the United States in order for Iran to return to the community of nations are all we ask of other countries around the world to be part of the international system,” he said.

Recently through his Twitter account, Secretary of State Pompeo again expressed support for the Iranian people as they seek to exercise their fundamental human rights. Those are, after all, the people who would most benefit from a change in the policies of their government. Such support, Mr. Pompeo said, “is a mark of President Trump and our administration. We are very hopeful that there will be an increase in the democratic values, and the capacity for Iranians to speak their mind inside the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

1 dire   

adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的

参考例句：

• There were dire warnings about the dangers of watching too much TV.曾经有人就看电视太多的危害性提出严重警告。
• We were indeed in dire straits.But we pulled through.那时我们的困难真是大极了，但是我们渡过了困难。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 malign   

adj.有害的；恶性的；恶意的；v.诽谤，诬蔑

参考例句：

• It was easy to see why the cartoonists regularly portrayed him as a malign cherub.难怪漫画家总是把他画成一个邪恶的小天使。
• She likes to malign innocent persons.她爱诋毁那些清白的人。

4 unified   

(unify 的过去式和过去分词)； 统一的； 统一标准的； 一元化的

参考例句：

• The teacher unified the answer of her pupil with hers. 老师核对了学生的答案。
• The First Emperor of Qin unified China in 221 B.C. 秦始皇于公元前221年统一中国。

5 malevolent   

adj.有恶意的，恶毒的

参考例句：

• Why are they so malevolent to me?他们为什么对我如此恶毒？
• We must thwart his malevolent schemes.我们决不能让他的恶毒阴谋得逞。

6 opprobrium   

n.耻辱，责难

参考例句：

• The opprobrium and enmity he incurred were caused by his outspoken brashness.他招致的轻蔑和敌意是由于他出言过于粗率而造成的。
• That drunkard was the opprobrium of our community.那个酒鬼是我们社区里可耻的人物。

7 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。