First, there was Bush’s “axis of evil” speech in 2002. Then, in February 2005, just as the hardline Ahmadinejad was about to begin his first term as president, Bush formally rejected a nuclear deal that had been painstakingly negotiated by Rouhani (then Khamenei’s representative in Iran’s Supreme National Security Council) and signed in late 2004 by France, Germany, and Britain.
对希望美伊关系改善的人来说，更坏的消息还在后面。首先是2002年小布什发表“邪恶轴心”演讲。接着，2005年2月，也就是强硬派内贾德即将开始第一个总统任期前夕，小布什正式拒绝了鲁哈尼（时任哈塔米在伊朗最高国家安全委会中的代表）费尽千辛万苦谈判成功并在2004年底与法国、德国和英国签署的核协议。