Trump’s Team Wants Him to Accept an Iran Deal He’s Already Rejected
Trump’s Team Wants Him to Accept an Iran Deal He’s Already Rejected
特朗普团队希望他接受一项他此前已拒绝的伊朗协议
President Donald Trump’s negotiators face the arduous task of trying to convince the president that a deal he previously rejected is their best option in Iran. 唐纳德·特朗普总统的谈判代表们正面临一项艰巨的任务：试图说服总统，他此前拒绝的一项协议实际上是他们在伊朗问题上的最佳选择。
Last month, Trump initially gave his blessing for a so-called “cash for uranium” deal, under which the US would release around $20 billion in frozen funds in exchange for Iran handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, sources familiar with the matter tell WIRED. 据熟悉此事的知情人士向《连线》（WIRED）透露，上个月，特朗普最初曾批准了一项所谓的“以现金换铀”协议。根据该协议，美国将解冻约200亿美元的资金，以换取伊朗交出其高浓缩铀库存。
Trump’s negotiators, vice president JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, received repeated approvals from the president while they were in Islamabad, giving them confidence a deal was close. 特朗普的谈判代表——副总统万斯（JD Vance）、特使史蒂夫·威特科夫（Steve Witkoff）以及特朗普的女婿贾里德·库什纳（Jared Kushner）——在伊斯兰堡期间多次获得总统的批准，这让他们相信协议已近在咫尺。
But the deal unraveled, in part because Trump was warned by his team that there was a risk he could be seen as giving Iran “pallets of cash”—an echo of his own oft-stated criticism of Barack Obama’s Iran deal—and he pulled the plug, the sources said. 但据消息人士称，该协议最终破裂，部分原因是特朗普的团队警告他，此举可能会让他被视为在向伊朗输送“成托盘的现金”——这与他本人经常批评巴拉克·奥巴马（Barack Obama）的伊朗协议如出一辙——于是他叫停了该计划。
Except now, that’s once again the cornerstone of the current proposal. 然而现在，这再次成为了当前提案的基石。
The current negotiations for a memorandum of understanding that could guide talks on a nuclear deal center on Iran handing over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, and a moratorium on further uranium enrichment for somewhere around 12 to 15 years, Axios earlier reported. 据Axios此前报道，目前旨在指导核协议谈判的谅解备忘录谈判，核心内容是伊朗交出其高浓缩铀库存，并暂停进一步的铀浓缩活动约12至15年。
In exchange, the US would offer a combination of billions in sanctions relief and the gradual release of frozen funds after gaining control of the enriched uranium, in order to destroy it or blend it down so it cannot be used for a nuclear weapon. 作为交换，美国将提供数十亿美元的制裁减免，并在获得浓缩铀的控制权后逐步解冻资金，以便将这些铀销毁或稀释，使其无法用于制造核武器。
While a memorandum of understanding might get Iran to the table, that framework is not materially different from what was discussed previously in Islamabad and rejected by Trump, who has repeatedly told advisers in recent weeks he is against sending money to Iran, sources tell WIRED. 消息人士告诉《连线》，虽然谅解备忘录可能会让伊朗回到谈判桌前，但该框架与此前在伊斯兰堡讨论并被特朗普拒绝的内容并无本质区别。特朗普在最近几周多次告诉顾问，他反对向伊朗输送资金。
Some of Trump’s advisers say the decision of whether Trump ultimately blesses the framework is likely to come down to how badly he wants a deal. There are few options to incentivize Iran, they add, and financial aid has been the most compelling. 一些特朗普的顾问表示，特朗普最终是否会批准该框架，可能取决于他达成协议的迫切程度。他们补充说，激励伊朗的选择很少，而经济援助是最具吸引力的手段。
“They are going to have to do something like that, and it’s better than the Obama deal, so he should take it,” one Trump adviser said on the condition of anonymity, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Trump has long criticized that deal for having provisions similar to ones currently under discussion, like a sunset clause on nuclear enrichment and the US lifting some sanctions. “他们必须采取类似行动，而且这比奥巴马的协议要好，所以他应该接受，”一位不愿透露姓名的特朗普顾问在谈到《联合全面行动计划》（JCPOA）时表示。特朗普长期以来一直批评该协议，认为其包含的条款与目前讨论的内容相似，例如核浓缩的日落条款以及美国解除部分制裁。
For all the machinations in the West Wing, it has not gone unnoticed by Trump’s orbit that some of his top players have been conspicuous in their absence on Iran, according to two administration officials familiar with the matter. 据两位熟悉此事的政府官员称，尽管白宫西翼内部运作复杂，但特朗普的核心圈子已经注意到，他的一些顶级幕僚在伊朗问题上表现得异常“缺席”。
Marco Rubio, the secretary of state and national security adviser, has been part of the group advising Trump on Iran and, physically speaking, spends most of his time in his West Wing office overlooking West Executive Avenue instead of at the State Department. 国务卿兼国家安全顾问马尔科·鲁比奥（Marco Rubio）一直是特朗普伊朗问题顾问小组成员，但从物理位置上看，他大部分时间都待在俯瞰西行政大道的西翼办公室里，而不是在国务院。
Rubio was happy to brief reporters on Tuesday, but he did so only at the request of the White House, a person familiar with the matter said, with his advisers wary of him getting involved in Iran negotiations that could as easily unravel as succeed. 一位知情人士表示，鲁比奥周二乐于向记者通报情况，但这仅是应白宫要求，他的顾问们担心他卷入伊朗谈判，因为这些谈判既可能成功，也极易破裂。
In fact, given the downside risk, Rubioworld has been saying they were surprised that Vance asked to be a part of the Iran talks—a contention denied by people close to the vice president, who said he was ordered to by Trump. 事实上，考虑到下行风险，鲁比奥的团队表示，他们对万斯主动要求参与伊朗谈判感到惊讶——但与副总统关系密切的人士否认了这一说法，称他是奉特朗普之命行事。
Rubio instead has been more focused on Cuba, and on Venezuela, where assistant secretary of state Caleb Orr has been involved in overseeing new private equity investment to rebuild the country’s oil infrastructure. 鲁比奥反而将更多精力集中在古巴和委内瑞拉问题上，在那里，助理国务卿凯莱布·奥尔（Caleb Orr）一直负责监督新的私募股权投资，以重建该国的石油基础设施。
Vance has been stuck in an awkward middle ground. Vance is a good soldier and is regularly in the Situation Room, but he was always skeptical of striking Iran at all and once suggested a six-month delay to build up the US stockpile of anti-missile interceptors, according to a person familiar with the matter. 万斯一直处于尴尬的中间地带。据一位知情人士透露，万斯是一名忠诚的执行者，经常出现在战情室，但他一直对打击伊朗持怀疑态度，并曾建议推迟六个月，以便增加美国的导弹拦截器库存。
Instead, he got pulled into back-channeling with Iran on Trump’s orders. But, with Iran talks stalled, his focus is increasingly on the midterms, which are looking worse for Republicans by the day. Case in point: On Tuesday, Vance was out on the campaign trail in the Midwest and headlining a Republican National Committee fundraiser. 相反，他奉特朗普之命被卷入了与伊朗的幕后沟通中。然而，随着伊朗谈判陷入僵局，他的注意力正越来越多地转向中期选举，而共和党在中期选举中的前景正日益恶化。一个典型的例子是：周二，万斯在中西部地区进行竞选活动，并主持了一场共和党全国委员会的筹款活动。