與伊朗爭端加劇 波斯灣國家聯合軍演
Gulf Arab states are beginning two days of joint military exercises, as fears of an armed conflict with Iran continue to grow.
波斯灣阿拉伯國家開始進行爲期兩天的聯合軍事演習，他們日益擔心與伊朗發生武裝衝突。
The drills, dubbed "Islands of Loyalty," come amid an escalating territorial dispute between the United Arab Emirates and Iran over three strategic islands in the Persian Gulf.
由於存在領土爭端，那裏的局勢越來越緊張。這次代號爲“捍衛島嶼”的軍演開始之際，正值阿拉伯聯合酋長國與伊朗在波斯灣三個具有戰略意義島嶼的領土爭端升級之時。
Earlier this month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited one of the islands, Abu Musa, sparking a war of words between Abu Dhabi and Tehran.
本月早些時候，伊朗總統艾哈邁迪內賈德前往這三個島嶼之一的阿布穆薩島，從而激起阿布扎比與德黑蘭之間的爭論。
The UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Mohammed Gargash, said his nation was “fed up” with the Iranians’ “occupation” of the land.
阿聯酋外交事務國務部長卡爾卡什說，阿聯酋對伊朗佔領這個島嶼忍無可忍。
Iran’s FARS news agency on Saturday provided one of the starkest warnings yet the dispute could result in war, quoting an unnamed military official as saying, “serious damage to the United Arab Emirates would be the first outcome.”
伊朗法爾斯通訊社星期六發出一項最嚴厲的警告，說這一爭端可能導致戰爭，並且引述一位沒有透露姓名的官員的話說，阿聯酋遭到嚴重損害將是這一爭端帶來的第一種後果。
Despite the strong rhetoric analyst David Roberts, the deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies in Qatar, says both countries would prefer to avoid a serious confrontation.
儘管雙方進行激烈的爭吵，但是卡塔爾的皇家國防與安全研究聯合服務學院副院長、分析人士大衛.羅伯茨說，這兩個國家都願意避免一場嚴重的對抗。
"It is certainly for show, but that is absolutely not to ignore the potential prospect that something could accidentally spark off here," Roberts. "If you put all of these forces in a small proximity in a slightly fevered atmosphere, anything could happen."
羅伯茨說：“這顯然是做做樣子而已。不過，那也絕對不能忽略某件事有可能激起事端。如果把這些部隊都部署在一個充滿火藥味的很小的範圍，任何事件都有可能發生。”
Research Director Theodore Karasic, of the Dubai-based Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, agrees.
設在迪拜的近東與波斯灣軍事分析研究所研究部主任卡拉西奇也認同這種觀點。
"It only takes one little accident or incident to set off a chain of events that could ultimately lead to some kind of military confrontation and it is possible that the islands' issue could do that," say Karasic.
卡拉西奇說：“只需一件偶然發生的很小的事就會激起一連串的反應，最終還可能導致某種程度的軍事對抗。這些島嶼的爭端就有可能引起更大的衝突。”
All three of the disputed islands are controlled by Iran and lie near the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies are shipped.
所有這三個有爭議的島嶼都被伊朗控制了，它們位於霍爾木茲海峽附近，世界上運輸的石油中大約五分之一都是從霍爾木茲海峽經過的。Tehran has threatened to close the Strait in response to sanctions targeting its nuclear program and would likely use troops stationed on Abu Musa to do so.
德黑蘭威脅要封鎖霍爾木茲海峽，以應對針對其核計劃實施的制裁。伊朗很可能會動用駐紮在阿布穆薩島上的部隊完成這項任務。
Political risks analyst Andrew Bond, of the Institute of Gulf Affairs in Washington D. C., says many countries, including the United States, are concerned the islands confrontation could have a future impact on global oil supplies.
位於美國首都華盛頓的海灣事務研究所的政治風險分析人士安德魯.邦德說，許多國家，包括美國在內，都擔心這幾個島嶼的爭端將來可能會對全球石油供應產生影響。
"There are some people in the [U.S.] administration who are nervous right now with what is going on," said Bond.
邦德說：“美國政府中一些人對目前的這一狀況感到很緊張。”
On Sunday, Iran’s Majlis (legislature) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee reportedly held a meeting on Abu Musa to coincide with the Arab military drills.
據報道，伊朗伊斯蘭議會的國家安全與對外政策委員會星期天就阿布穆薩島的爭端召開了一次會議，而與此同時，波斯灣的阿拉伯國家開始舉行聯合軍演。
The drills are being carried out by the Peninsula Shield Force, the joint army of the Gulf Arab states, to test the ability of ground, air and naval troops to carry out missions along coasts and on islands in territorial waters.
這次軍演由波斯灣阿拉伯國家的半島防禦自衛聯合部隊進行，目的是測試他們的海陸空三軍在海岸線以及他們的領海範圍島嶼的作戰能力。
Peninsula Shield soldiers were used to quell Bahrain’s anti-government uprising last year.
The United Arab Emirates says it is willing to take the islands dispute to international arbitration if a compromise cannot be reached diplomatically. Iran says its ownership if the islands is not negotiable.
阿拉伯聯合酋長國說，如果不能通過外交途徑達成妥協的話，它願意把這些島嶼的爭端提交國際仲裁。伊朗說，它對這些島嶼的主權是不可談判的。
