美國承認以暫扣伊朗4億美元換取其釋放人質
The Obama administration said on Thursday it had delayed paying $400m in cash it owed Iran until it was sure that three American prisoners had already left Tehran.
週四，奧巴馬政府表示曾延遲支付欠伊朗的4億美元現金，直到確認三名美國囚犯已離開德黑蘭。
In comments immediately seized upon by Republicans, state department spokesman John Kirby said the cash payment had been held back as “leverage” to ensure that the prisoners were actually released.
美國國務院發言人約翰•科比(John Kirby)表示，那筆現金當時被美國暫扣下來當做“籌碼”，以確保人質真的被釋放。他的話立即遭到了共和黨人的抨擊。
It was the first time the administration has acknowledged any connection between the $400m transfer, part of a decades-old dispute settlement, and the negotiations over the release of the prisoners.
這是美國政府第一次承認，支付這4億美元現金，與釋放美國人質的談判之間存在關聯。
The three Americans, among a group of five prisoners released by Iran as part of a prisoner exchange, flew out of Iran on January 16 on the same day the US announced the return of the funds to Tehran — a sequence of events that has led Republicans to accuse the administration of paying a ransom.
1月16日，這三名美國囚犯——伊朗按照囚犯交換計劃總共釋放了5人——飛離了伊朗。就在同一天，美國宣佈已把現金運送給伊朗。這兩件事相繼發生，導致共和黨人指責美國國務院繳納了贖金。
Mr Kirby said the US was worried Iran would renege on the agreement to release the prisoners or find excuses for delays. “We deliberately leveraged that moment to finalise these outstanding issues nearly simultaneously,” he said. “We of course sought to retain maximum leverage until after American citizens were released. That was our top priority.”
科比表示，美國擔心伊朗拒不執行釋放囚犯的協議，或者找藉口推遲釋放囚犯。“我們特意利用那一時刻，幾乎同時最終敲定了這些懸而未決的問題”，他說。“我們當然尋求握有最大的籌碼，直到美國公民被釋放。那是我們的頭號問題。”
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, immediately accused President Barack Obama of having “lied” when he denied this month that the payment amounted to a ransom.
共和黨總統候選人唐納德•特朗普(Donald Trump)立即譴責了總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)，稱他本月否認這筆錢等於贖金時“說了謊”。
“He denied it was for the hostages, but it was,” Mr Trump said at a rally in North Carolina. “He said we don’t pay ransom, but he did. He lied about the hostages, openly and blatantly — just like he lied about Obamacare.” Mr Trump said the administration had put other Americans overseas at greater risk of being kidnapped.
“他否認這筆錢是用於贖回人質的，但實際就是那麼回事，”特朗普在北卡萊羅納州的一次集會上表示。“他說我們不交贖金，但他確實交了贖金。他在人質問題上撒了謊，公然撒謊，就像他在奧巴馬醫改問題上所做的那樣。”特朗普表示，美國政府已使其他海外美國民衆遭綁架的風險增加。
