美國敦促伊朗和沙特剋制 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.

美國昨天呼籲沙特阿拉伯和伊朗展現剋制。目前各方擔心，兩國間緊張關係的急劇升級可能加劇敘利亞和也門境內的代理人戰爭，並破壞爲這些衝突打造國際解決方案的脆弱努力。

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，該地區可能出現的教派衝突升級，還可能影響到從黎巴嫩到伊拉克的多個國家，並進一步加大打造有效國際軍事同盟、打擊“伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯蘭國”(ISIS)的難度。

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.

爲阻止這場外交危機進一步升級，美國國務卿約翰克里(John Kerry)週日晚致電伊朗外交部長穆罕默德賈瓦德丠裏夫(Mohammad Javad Zarif)後，又在昨天和沙特副王儲穆罕默德本薩勒曼(Mohammed bin Salman)交談。

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.

白宮發言人喬希歐內斯特(Josh Earnest)敦促沙特和伊朗降低緊張氣氛。他說：“我們敦促有關各方展現一些剋制，不要進一步加劇正在上演的緊張局勢。”

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.

這兩個長期地區性對手間關係的迅速惡化，令奧巴馬政府措手不及。這件事始於上週六沙特處決該國一位知名什葉派(Shia)教士，在沙特駐德黑蘭大使館被抗議者襲擊後，沙特在週日與伊朗斷絕外交關係。

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.

儘管美國對沙特這次處決行爲的公開批評比西方某些國家的政府要少，但奧巴馬政府官員表示，沙特政府的行爲加劇了該地區本已激烈的教派緊張關係。

“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.

目前任職於威爾遜中心(Wilson Center)的美國國務院前資深官員亞倫大衛猠勒(Aaron David Miller)表示：“結束內戰擊敗ISIS的前景已從近乎不可能變成完全不可能。”

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.

儘管美國官員承認，旨在結束敘利亞戰爭的新國際進程本來就很脆弱，但克里的一個主要成果是說服沙特和伊朗上月同意首次共同出席有關這場衝突的會議。去年12月下旬，作爲外交進程的一部分，沙特主持了敘利亞反對派活動分子的一場會議。

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.

外交官們表示，克里和俄羅斯外長謝爾蓋拉夫羅夫(Sergei Lavrov)試圖將敘利亞談判與沙特和伊朗間的最新對峙隔離開來。