On April 9, 1972, Iraq and the Soviet Union signed anhistoric agreement. The USSR committed to arming the Arab republic with thelatest weaponry. In return for sending Baghdad guns, tanks and jet fighters,Moscow got just one thing?—?influence …in a region that held most of the world’s accessibleoil.

1972年4月9号，苏联签署了一个历史性的协议。苏联承诺向伊拉克提供最新武器。在用枪支，坦克和战机武装伊拉克后，莫斯科所获得回报是——影响力。。。在一个拥有世界最多可得石油资源的地区获得影响力。

In neighboring Iran, news of Iraq’salliance with the Soviets exploded like a bomb. Ethnically Persian andpredominately Shia, Iran was?—?and still is?—?a bitter rival of Iraq’s Sunni Arabestablishment, which during the 1970s dominated the country’s politics.

而在邻国伊朗，伊拉克和苏联结盟的消息像炸弹一样爆发。作为波斯民族而什叶派信仰又占绝对主体的伊朗至始至终都是作为阿拉伯人而又信仰逊尼派的伊拉克的死敌，整个70年代这种情况一直主宰着伊朗的政治生活。

In Tehran, King Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi?—?the“shah”?—?moved quickly to counter Baghdad’s move.First he set loose an army of secret police in a desperate and bloody bid toquell internal dissent. And then he reached out to the United States.

在德黑兰，国王穆罕默德-雷扎-沙-巴拉维快速采取行动应对伊拉克的举动。首先他让一支秘密警察部队对国内异见进行血腥镇压。然后再向美国求助。

The shah wanted weapons. And not just any weapons.Himself a former military pilot, the king wanted the latest and best U.S.-madewarplanes, with which the Iranian air force might dominate the Persian Gulf andeven patrol as far away as the Indian Ocean.

伊朗国王也想要武器。不是任何的武器。他本人之前是军队飞行员，所以他想要最新最好的美国战机，这样伊朗空军才有可能主宰波斯湾，甚至到印度洋巡逻。

The Iranian leader’s appetite for planes wasnotorious. “He’ll buy anythingthat flies,” one American official said of the shah.But Pahlavi was especially keen to acquire a fighter that could fly fast enoughand shoot far enough to confront Soviet MiG-25 Foxbat recon planes that hadbeen flying over Iran at 60,000 feet and Mach 3.

这位伊朗领导人对战机的欲望是臭名昭著的。“他会购买任何会飞的东西，”一位美国官员这样形容伊朗国王。但是巴拉维特别想获得一种速度快射击快的战机以对抗苏联的米格25战机，这种战机已经在6万英尺的高度以3马赫的速度飞越伊朗。

The administration of U.S. president Richard Nixon wasall too eager to grant the shah’s wish in exchange for Iran’s help balancing a rising Soviet Union. Nixon and his nationalsecurity adviser Henry Kissinger visited Tehran in May 1972?—?and promptly offered the shah a “blankcheck.” Any weapons the king wanted and could pay for,he would get?—?regardless of the Pentagon’s own reservations and the State Department’sstringent export policies.

美国的尼克松政府也急于实现伊朗国王的愿望，从而让伊朗帮忙抵抗崛起中的苏联。尼克松及其国家安全顾问基辛格1972年5月访问德黑兰，并迅速向伊朗国王提供了一张“空头支票”。伊朗国王想要且负担得起的武器，都可以买到，而不用顾及五角大楼自己的保留以及美国国务院严格的出口政策。

That’s how, starting in the mid-1970s,Iran became the only country besides the United States to operate arguably themost powerful interceptor jet ever built?—?the GrummanF-14 Tomcat, a swing-wing carrier fighter packing a sophisticated radar andlong-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles.

所以从70年代中期开始，伊朗成为了除美国之外唯一一个拥有最强大截击机的国家，即格鲁曼F14雄猫战机，这是一款可变后掠翼舰载机，装备有复杂的雷达和长程AIM54凤凰空空导弹。

It’s fair to say American policymakersquickly regretted giving Iran the F-14s. In February 1979, Islamic hardlinersrose up against the shah’s police state, kidnapping 52Americans at the U.S. embassy in Tehran and ushering the return of AyatollahRuhollah Khomeini. The Islamic Revolution transformed Iran from an Americanally to one of the United States’ most vociferousenemies.

可以说美国政策制定者很快就后悔将F14战机卖给伊朗。1979年2月，伊斯兰强硬派起来反抗伊朗国王统治下的极权国家，在位于德黑兰的美国大使馆绑架了52名美国人并迎接霍梅尼回归。伊斯兰革命将伊朗从美国盟友变成了美国最大的敌人之一。

An enemy possessing 79 of the world’smost fearsome interceptors.

一个拥有79架世界最可怕战机的敌人。

For the next five decades, the United States would doeverything in its power?—?short of war?—?to ground the ayatollah’s Tomcats. But theAmericans failed. Through a combination of engineering ingenuity and audaciousespionage, Iran kept its F-14s in working order?—?andeven improved them. The swing-wing fighters took to the air in severalconflicts and even occasionally confronted American planes.

在接下来的50年时间里，美国使用了一切的手段——除了战争——来停飞伊朗的这些先进雄猫战机。但是失败了。伊朗利用自己的工程技术和间谍信息让F14继续保持运作状态，甚至还提升了战机的性能。在随后的几次冲突中这些战机还飞上了天，甚至有时候还和美国战机对抗。

Today Iran’s 40 or so surviving F-14s remainsome of the best fighters in the Middle East. And since the U.S. Navy retiredits last Tomcats in 2006, the ayatollah’s Tomcats arethe only active Tomcats left in the world.

如今伊朗还有40架左右的F14雄猫战机，这可以说是中东最好的战机了。由于美国在2006年退役了最后一批的雄猫战机，所以伊朗的这些雄猫战机是世界上唯一在役的雄猫战机了。