Lugar would still 'sit down' with Iran

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., says the United States should "sit down" with Iran to negotiate an end to its nuclear program.

Echoing a sentiment expressed last week by President Barack Obama that he would continue to seek a dialogue with Iran even in the face of a crackdown on government political opponents, Lugar said on CNN's "State of the Union" news program Sunday that he, too, would want to continue direct talks.

"We would sit down because our objective is to eliminate the nuclear program that is in Iran," said Lugar, the ranking Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Of course, we really have to get into the nuclear weapons. ... Now we have a new opportunity in which we might very well say we want communication with Iran."

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have faced massive street protests this week in the wake of presidential election results deemed by protesters to have been rigged.

Lugar told CNN he would talk to Iran because "this regime now is under fire. ... They may not be able to impose their will. This is what it is all about in the streets."