沙特宣布与伊朗断交 West calls for calm between Middle East powers

Western leaders have called for calm between Iran and Saudi Arabia after renewed tensions at the weekend between the two Middle Eastern powers threatened to stoke the flames of a sectarian conflict across the region.

沙特阿拉伯周日宣布与伊朗断绝外交关系，此前沙特处决了知名什叶派教士和活动家谢赫尼米尔尼米尔(Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr)，引发伊朗人在沙特驻德黑兰大使馆门前爆发骚乱。

Saudi Arabia executed 47 people on Saturday for planning and carrying out terrorist attacks, including the prominent Shia cleric and activist Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, triggering riots at Riyadh’s embassy in Tehran.

上周六，沙特以策划和实施恐怖袭击的罪名处决了47人，其中包括知名什叶派教士和活动家谢赫尼米尔尼米尔，引发伊朗人在沙特驻德黑兰大使馆门前爆发骚乱。

The US, UN and EU all condemned the kingdom’s executions, while warning countries in the region to avoid escalating religious tensions further.

美国、联合国(UN)和欧盟(EU)都谴责沙特处决这些人士的举动，同时警告中东国家避免加剧宗教紧张。

The Shia cleric’s execution threatens to fuel a power struggle with Iran across the region, particularly in Syria and Iraq where both accuse each other of fanning a sectarian war between Shia and Sunni Muslims.

处决这名什叶派宗教人士的举动可能加剧沙特同伊朗在整个地区的权力斗争，尤其是在叙利亚和伊拉克，这两国都指责对方在什叶派和逊尼派穆斯林之间煽动教派战争。

The western warnings came as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, said Saudi Arabia would face “divine vengeance” for the “unjustly spilled blood” of Nimr. He urged the world, including Islamic countries, to react to Saturday’s killings.

西方的警告是在伊朗最高领袖阿亚图拉阿里哈梅内伊(Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)发表相关言论之际发出的。哈梅内伊宣称，沙特将为尼米尔“不公正的流血”遭受“神圣的复仇”。他敦促包括伊斯兰国家在内的全世界对沙特上周六的处决行动做出反应。

Dozens of Iranian hardliners stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Saturday and set it ablaze. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vowed “tough revenge in the not-too-distant future” that would “trigger the collapse” of Saudi rule.

上周六，数十名伊朗强硬派冲击了沙特驻德黑兰大使馆并纵火焚烧。伊朗革命卫队(Revolutionary Guard)誓言，“在不远的将来将发动强硬报复”，引发沙特统治“覆灭”。

The US Department of State said Nimr’s execution risked “exacerbating sectarian tensions at a time when they urgently need to be reduced”. It reiterated the need for leaders throughout the region “to redouble efforts aimed at de-escalating regional tensions”.

美国国务院(Department of State)表示，处决尼米尔可能会在“迫切需要减缓教派紧张局势的时候加剧紧张”。美国国务院还重申，整个中东地区国家领袖需要“加强降低地区紧张的努力”。

Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, said he was “deeply dismayed” about the executions, adding that the UN “deplored the violence by demonstrators against the Saudi embassy in Tehran”.

联合国秘书长潘基文(Ban Ki-moon)表示对这一处决行为“深感震惊”，并补充说联合国“谴责示威者对德黑兰沙特大使馆的暴力行为”。

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said the Nimr case raised serious concerns “regarding the respect of basic civil and political rights”. She warned it could have “dangerous consequences” for the region.

欧盟外交与安全政策高级代表费代里卡莫盖里尼(Federica Mogherini)表示，尼米尔一案引发了“在尊重基本公民和政治权利方面”的严重担忧。她警告称，该案可能对该地区产生“危险的后果”。

Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s centrist president, also criticised Saudi’s rulers for what he called an “un-Islamic act” that he said would fan terrorism and “further tarnish the Saudi image in the world”.

伊朗的中间派总统哈桑脠哈尼(Hassan Rouhani)也批评沙特统治者采取了被他称为“不符合伊斯兰教义的行为”。他说，这一行为会助长恐怖主义的气焰，并“进一步玷污沙特在世界上的形象”。

At the same time, Mr Rouhani’s government sought to prevent further escalation by urging protesters to respect diplomatic immunity and not to gather in front of the Saudi embassy, as well as its consulate in the northeastern holy city of Mashhad.

与此同时，鲁哈尼政府寻求阻止局面进一步升级，敦促抗议者尊重外交豁免权，不要聚集在沙特大使馆及伊朗东北部马什哈德市的沙特领事馆门前。