"To rejoin the community of nations, Iran would need to stop developing weapons of mass destruction and missiles to deliver them and end its support for terrorist groups," Lautenberg said Monday. "Moreover, Iran must accept responsibility for terrorism it has supported and compensate the Flatow family and other American victims of Iran-sponsored terrorist attacks for the tremendous losses they've suffered."
Last week, both the Senate and the House approved legislation allowing the White House to penalize or impose sanctions on Russia and other countries that help Iran develop nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. The bill was modified to make the penalties discretionary rather than mandatory.
The only specific overture to Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution occurred during the Reagan administration, when the United States secretly traded arms for help with the release of hostages held by Iranian allies in Lebanon in 1985-86.
Times staff writer John Daniszewski in Cairo contributed to this report.