NEARLY TWO years ago King Abdullah of Jordan told Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister, that his own country would not be a “battleground(战场；争斗领域) for regional conflicts”. A decade earlier, while campaigning to be Egypt’s president, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi made the opposite vow to Gulf states: should their security be threatened, Egypt would be “one step away”.(十年前，塞西在竞选总统时向海湾国家做出相反承诺：若其安全受威胁，埃及将“一步之遥”随时介入。)
近两年前，约旦国王阿卜杜拉二世对伊朗外长阿巴斯·阿拉格齐表示，约旦不会成为“地区冲突的战场”。十年前，阿卜杜勒-法塔赫·塞西在竞选埃及总统时，向海湾国家做出了相反的承诺：如果海湾国家的安全受到威胁，埃及将“一步之遥”随时准备介入。
Yet today Jordan is at the centre(中心；中央) of a regional conflict between America, its closest ally, and Mr Araghchi’s government. As for(至于；关于) Egypt, it may be one step away—but it has stayed there. Though the Gulf faces its greatest threat in 35 years, Mr Sisi has offered little beyond words.(尽管海湾面临35年来最大威胁，塞西除了言语外几乎没有提供什么。)
然而如今，约旦却处于美国（其最亲密的盟友）与阿拉格齐先生领导的伊朗政府之间的地区冲突中心。至于埃及，它或许“一步之遥”，但始终原地踏步。尽管海湾地区面临35年来最大的威胁，塞西先生除了口头表态外几乎没有提供实质帮助。
The broken promises are revealing(有揭示作用的；发人深省的). Jordan is paying a price(付出代价) for a war over which it has little control. Egypt has been sidelined(被边缘化；被排除在外) as a mediator and military power. They have long sold themselves as(自诩为；标榜为) pillars of the regional order. But the order looks wobbly(摇摇欲坠的；不稳定的)—and both countries look lost.
这些未兑现的承诺很能说明问题。约旦正在为一场自己几乎无法控制的战争付出代价。埃及作为调解者和军事力量已被边缘化。两国长期以来一直自诩为地区秩序的支柱。但这一秩序看起来摇摇欲坠，而两国都显得茫然失措。