美国敦促伊朗和沙特克制 US urges Iran and Saudis to show restraint

The US called yesterday for Saudi Arabia and Iran to show restraint amid fears the sharp escalation in tensions between the two countries could deepen proxy wars in Syria and Yemen and scupper fragile efforts to forge international solutions to the conflicts.

美国昨天呼吁沙特阿拉伯和伊朗展现克制。目前各方担心，两国间紧张关系的急剧升级可能加剧叙利亚和也门境内的代理人战争，并破坏为这些冲突打造国际解决方案的脆弱努力。

The potential increase in sectarian friction across the region could also affect countries ranging from Lebanon to Iraq and would make it even harder to mount an effective international military coalition against Isis, analysts said.

分析人士表示，该地区可能出现的教派冲突升级，还可能影响到从黎巴嫩到伊拉克的多个国家，并进一步加大打造有效国际军事同盟、打击“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国”(ISIS)的难度。

In a bid to prevent a further deepening of the diplomatic crisis, John Kerry, US secretary of state, yesterday spoke to deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the Saudi press agency, having already called Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Mohammad Zarif, on Sunday night.

为阻止这场外交危机进一步升级，美国国务卿约翰克里(John Kerry)周日晚致电伊朗外交部长穆罕默德贾瓦德丠里夫(Mohammad Javad Zarif)后，又在昨天和沙特副王储穆罕默德本萨勒曼(Mohammed bin Salman)交谈。

Josh Earnest, White House spokesman, urged Saudi Arabia and Iran to “de-escalate” the situation. “We are urging all sides to show some restraint and to not further inflame tensions that are on vivid display,” he said.

白宫发言人乔希欧内斯特(Josh Earnest)敦促沙特和伊朗降低紧张气氛。他说：“我们敦促有关各方展现一些克制，不要进一步加剧正在上演的紧张局势。”

The Obama administration has been caught off-guard by the swift deterioration in relations between the two longstanding regional rivals, which began with the execution on Saturday of a prominent Saudi Shia cleric and led to the Saudi Arabia cutting diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday after its embassy in Tehran was ransacked by protesters.

这两个长期地区性对手间关系的迅速恶化，令奥巴马政府措手不及。这件事始于上周六沙特处决该国一位知名什叶派(Shia)教士，在沙特驻德黑兰大使馆被抗议者袭击后，沙特在周日与伊朗断绝外交关系。

While the US has been less publicly critical of the Saudi executions than some western governments, administration officials say that Riyadh’s actions have added to the region’s already fierce sectarian tensions.

尽管美国对沙特这次处决行为的公开批评比西方某些国家的政府要少，但奥巴马政府官员表示，沙特政府的行为加剧了该地区本已激烈的教派紧张关系。

“The prospects for ending the civil war and defeating Isis have gone from near impossible to impossible,” said Aaron David Miller, a former senior state department official now at the Wilson Center.

目前任职于威尔逊中心(Wilson Center)的美国国务院前资深官员亚伦大卫猠勒(Aaron David Miller)表示：“结束内战击败ISIS的前景已从近乎不可能变成完全不可能。”

While US officials admit that the new international process to end the Syrian war was already delicate, one of Mr Kerry’s main successes had been the agreement by Saudi Arabia and Iran last month to participate together for the first time in meetings about the conflict. In late December, the Saudis hosted a meeting of Syrian opposition activists as part of the diplomatic process.

尽管美国官员承认，旨在结束叙利亚战争的新国际进程本来就很脆弱，但克里的一个主要成果是说服沙特和伊朗上月同意首次共同出席有关这场冲突的会议。去年12月下旬，作为外交进程的一部分，沙特主持了叙利亚反对派活动分子的一场会议。

Diplomats said Mr Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, were trying to establish a firewall between the Syria talks and the new Saudi-Iran showdown.

外交官们表示，克里和俄罗斯外长谢尔盖拉夫罗夫(Sergei Lavrov)试图将叙利亚谈判与沙特和伊朗间的最新对峙隔离开来。