II 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3008 

To establish a program to support a transition to a freely elected, open 

democracy in Iran. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 11, 2010 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself and Mr. BROWNBACK) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish a program to support a transition to a freely 

elected, open democracy in Iran. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Iran Democratic Tran5 sition Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The Government of the Islamic Republic of 

9 Iran has a history of violating the human rights of 

10 its own citizens. 


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1 (2) According to the Department of State’s 

2 2008 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, 

3 the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and 

4 its agents— 

5 (A) have tortured detainees and prisoners; 

6 and 

7 (B) have committed numerous arbitrary 

8 and unlawful killings, including the killing of 

9 juveniles. 

10 (3) On January 28, 2010, the Government of 

11 the Islamic Republic of Iran hanged 2 men accused 

12 of participating in protests following the disputed 

13 June 12, 2009, presidential election. 

14 (4) On February 2, 2010, Ebrahim Raisi, a 

15 senior member of Iran’s judiciary, announced that 9 

16 additional dissidents would soon be hanged for their 

17 opposition to the Islamic regime. 

18 (5) On June 12, 2009, the Islamic Republic of 

19 Iran staged a presidential election that— 

20 (A) was marred by— 

21 (i) fraud; 

22 (ii) the barring of candidate observers 

23 at many polling stations; 

24 (iii) a shut-down of Internet and text 

25 services by the regime; and 


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1 (iv) violent repression of protests; and 

2 (B) despite widespread protests, resulted 

3 in the certification of incumbent President 

4 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the winner. 

5 (6) The Government of the Islamic Republic of 

6 Iran— 

7 (A) increasingly restricts the operation of 

8 international media within Iran, including the 

9 February 7, 2010, arrest of 7 people associated 

10 with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Per11 sian language program, Radio Farda; and 

12 (B) imposes significant restrictions on Ira13 nian press outlets, including— 

14 (i) the jailing and torturing of numer15 ous media employees; and 

16 (ii) restricting Iranian citizens’ access 

17 to the Internet. 

18 (7) According to the Department of State’s 

19 2009 International Religious Freedom report re20 garding Iran, in the 1-year period ending June 30, 

21 2009— 

22 (A) ‘‘respect for religious freedom in [Iran] 

23 continued to deteriorate’’; and 


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1 (B) ‘‘[g]overnment rhetoric and actions 

2 created a threatening atmosphere for nearly all 

3 non-Shi’a religious groups’’. 

4 (8) January 12, 2010, was the first day of a 

5 show trial for 7 Iranian Baha’i leaders accused of 

6 espionage, which could result in the imposition of 

7 the death penalty. 

8 (9) According to the 2008 Department of State 

9 Country Reports on Terrorism, published in April 

10 2009, Iran— 

11 (A) ‘‘remained the most significant state 

12 sponsor of terrorism’’; 

13 (B) ‘‘has long employed terrorism to ad14 vance its key national security and foreign pol15 icy interests, which include regime survival, re16 gional dominance, opposition to Arab-Israeli 

17 peace, and countering western influence, par18 ticularly in the Middle East’’; 

19 (C) continues to hinder the Middle East 

20 peace process by using the Islamic Revolu21 tionary Guard Corps Qods to arm, train, and 

22 fund militants and terrorist organizations, in23 cluding Hamas, Lebanese Hizballah, and the 

24 Palestinian Islamic Jihad; and 


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1 (D) despite its pledge to support stabiliza2 tion in Iraq, has used the Islamic Revolutionary 

3 Guard Corps Qods to cultivate and support cer4 tain Iraqi Shi’a militant groups. 

5 (10) Iran’s support for militant and terrorist 

6 organizations— 

7 (A) has directly bolstered Hamas’ ability to 

8 strike Israel; and 

9 (B) includes the supply of arms to 

10 Hezbollah in direct violation of United Nations 

11 Security Council Resolution 1701. 

12 (11) The report also states that— 

13 (A) ‘‘despite a dramatic decrease in at14 tacks in Iraq since August 2008, security re15 mains fragile, in part because the Qods Force 

16 continued to provide lethal support to select 

17 Iraqi militant groups that target U.S., Iraqi 

18 and Coalition forces’’; and 

19 (B) ‘‘Iranian weapons transfers to select 

20 Taliban members in Afghanistan in 2008 con21 tinued to threaten Afghan and NATO troops 

22 operating under UN mandate and undermine 

23 stabilization efforts in that country’’. 

24 (12) On October 26, 2005, Iranian President 

25 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated, ‘‘to those who doubt, 


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1 to those who ask is it possible or those who do not 

2 believe, I say accomplishment of a world without 

3 America and Israel is both possible and feasible’’. 

4 (13) On June 2, 2008, Ahmadinejad stated 

5 that Israel— 

6 (A) ‘‘will be wiped off the pages of his7 tory’’; and 

8 (B) ‘‘is about to die and will soon be 

9 erased from the geographical scene. . . . 

10 Today, the time for the fall of the satanic 

11 power of the United States has come and the 

12 countdown to the annihilation of the emperor of 

13 power and wealth has started’’. 

14 (14) Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali 

15 Khamenei— 

16 (A) gave a speech on March 4, 2009, in 

17 which he referred to the State of Israel as a 

18 ‘‘cancerous tumor’’ and indicated that negotia19 tions with Israel were a ‘‘big mistake’’; and 

20 (B) posted on his official website on Janu21 ary 27, 2010, ‘‘the day will come when nations 

22 of the region will witness the destruction of the 

23 Zionist regime’’. 

24 (15) On September 21, 2009, Iran revealed to 

25 the International Atomic Energy Agency that it was 


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1 constructing a second uranium enrichment at an un2 derground site near Qom. 

3 (16) United States intelligence officials have 

4 said that despite this notification— 

5 (A) Iran originally intended for the facility 

6 to be kept secret; 

7 (B) the United States had been ‘‘observing 

8 and analyzing the facility for several years’’; 

9 and 

10 (C) President Barack Obama has noted 

11 that ‘‘the size and configuration of this facility 

12 is inconsistent with a peaceful program’’. 

13 (17) On February 3, 2010, Director of National 

14 Intelligence Dennis Blair stated, in written testi15 mony to Congress, ‘‘Iran’s technical advancement, 

16 particularly in uranium enrichment, strengthens our 

17 2007 NIE [National Intelligence Estimate] assess18 ment that Iran has the scientific, technical and in19 dustrial capacity to eventually produce nuclear weap20 ons, making the central issue its political will to do 

21 so. These advancements lead us to reaffirm our 

22 judgment from the 2007 NIE that Iran is tech23 nically capable of producing enough [highly enriched 

24 uranium] for a weapon in the next few years, if it 

25 chooses to do so.’’ 


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1 SEC. 3. DECLARATIONS OF POLICY TOWARD IRAN. 

2 Congress makes the following declarations: 

3 (1) The interests of the United States and 

4 international peace are threatened by the ongoing 

5 and destabilizing actions of the government of the 

6 Islamic Republic of Iran, including its— 

7 (A) massive, systematic, and extraordinary 

8 violations of the human rights of its own citi9 zens; 

10 (B) continued interference with the inter11 nal affairs of its neighbors, including Iraq and 

12 Afghanistan; 

13 (C) support for, and facilitation of, ter14 rorist activities; and 

15 (D) attempts to develop weapons of mass 

16 destruction and long-range missile delivery sys17 tems. 

18 (2) It should be the policy of the United States 

19 to deny the Government of the Islamic Republic of 

20 Iran the ability to continue— 

21 (A) to oppress the people of Iran and use 

22 violence and executions against pro-democracy 

23 protestors and regime opponents; 

24 (B) to interfere in the internal affairs of 

25 its neighbors, including Iraq and Afghanistan; 


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1 (C) to finance, provide safe-haven, or oth2 erwise support terrorist organizations; or 

3 (D) to develop chemical, biological, radio4 logical, or nuclear weapons, and ballistic missile 

5 delivery systems. 

6 (3) It should be the policy of the United 

7 States— 

8 (A) to fully and publicly support efforts 

9 made by the people of Iran to oppose and re10 move the regime headed by Supreme Leader Ali 

11 Hoseyni Khamenei and President Mahmoud 

12 Ahmadinejad from power in Iran; and 

13 (B) to promote the emergence of a freely 

14 elected, open, and democratic government to re15 place the political system of the Islamic Repub16 lic of Iran. 

17 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE TO SUPPORT A TRANSITION TO A 

18 FREELY ELECTED, OPEN DEMOCRATIC GOV19 ERNMENT IN IRAN. 

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

22 provision of law, the President is authorized to sup23 port a transition to a freely elected, open, democratic 

24 government in Iran by providing eligible Iranian 


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1 democratic opposition organizations with the assist2 ance set forth in this subsection. 

3 (2) ASSISTANCE FOR BROADCASTING AND

4 OTHER COMMUNICATIONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President may 

6 grant assistance directly to Iranian democratic 

7 opposition organizations for the communication 

8 and dissemination of accurate and independent 

9 information to the Iranian people through 

10 radio, television, Internet, cellular telephone, 

11 short message service, and other media. 

12 (B) USE OF EXISTING AUTHORITY TO SUP13 PORT DEMOCRACY.—Notwithstanding any other 

14 provision of law that may restrict or prohibit 

15 aid to Iran, Congress urges the President to 

16 fully utilize existing authorities and funding, in17 cluding under the Iran Freedom Support Act 

18 (Public Law 109–293) and the National De19 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 

20 (Public Law 111–84), to support and promote 

21 democracy in Iran through assistance for pro22 democracy broadcasting into Iran and the dis23 semination of accurate and independent infor24 mation to the Iranian people through various 

25 media. 


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1 (3) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—Notwith2 standing any other laws that may bar aid to Iran, 

3 Congress urges the President to use existing au4 thorities under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

5 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.) to provide humanitarian 

6 assistance to individuals or groups determined by 

7 the President to be victims of repression by the Gov8 ernment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly 

9 those individuals or groups eligible for assistance 

10 under paragraph (1). 

11 (4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to 

13 be appropriated to the Department of State 

14 such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 

15 2010 to carry out this subsection. 

16 (B) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts 

17 authorized to be appropriated under this sec18 tion— 

19 (i) are in addition to amounts other20 wise available for the purposes described in 

21 this section; and 

22 (ii) shall remain available until ex23 pended. 

24 (b) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 

25 15 days before each obligation of assistance under this 


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1 section, the President shall notify the Committee on For2 eign Relations of the Senate, the Committee on Appropria3 tions of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

4 the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Ap5 propriations of the House of Representatives, in accord6 ance with the procedures applicable to reprogramming no7 tifications under section 634A of the Foreign Assistance 

8 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2394–1). 

9 (c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—An Iranian democratic 

10 opposition organization may receive assistance under sub11 section (a) only if the President determines that the orga12 nization— 

13 (1) includes a broad spectrum of Iranian indi14 viduals or groups that have a demonstrable and 

15 proven record of— 

16 (A) opposition to the current Government 

17 of the Islamic Republic of Iran; and 

18 (B) commitment to fostering cooperation 

19 among democratic opponents of the current 

20 Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; 

21 (2) is dedicated to democratic values and sup22 ports the adoption of a democratic form of govern23 ment in Iran; 

24 (3) is dedicated to respect for human rights, in25 cluding the fundamental equality of women; 


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1 (4) supports freedom of the press, freedom of 

2 speech, freedom of association, and freedom of reli3 gion; 

4 (5) officially opposes the use of violence and 

5 terrorism and has not been designated as a foreign 

6 terrorist organization under section 219 of the Im7 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189) at 

8 any time; 

9 (6) advocates the adherence by Iran to non10 proliferation regimes for nuclear, chemical, and bio11 logical weapons and materiel; and 

12 (7) is committed to peaceful relations with the 

13 countries surrounding Iran. 

14 (d) RESTRICTION ON ASSISTANCE.—Assistance may 

15 not be provided under this section to any organization or 

16 individual that has, at any time— 

17 (1) engaged in military cooperation with the 

18 Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran; or 

19 (2) engaged in or supported an act of terrorism. 

20 SEC. 5. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN 

21 RIGHTS IN IRAN. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The President may appoint, 

23 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Spe24 cial Envoy for Democracy and Human Rights in Iran (reVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:44 Feb 12, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3008.IS S3008

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1 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’), who shall 

2 hold the rank of Ambassador. 

3 (b) DUTIES.— 

4 (1) MANAGEMENT OF POLICY ON PROMOTION

5 OF DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS.—The primary 

6 responsibility of the Special Envoy shall be to man7 age United States policy on the promotion of democ8 racy and human rights in Iran. 

9 (2) OTHER DUTIES.—The Special Envoy 

10 shall— 

11 (A) advise the President and the Secretary 

12 of State, as appropriate; 

13 (B) in coordination with the Assistant Sec14 retary for Near Eastern Affairs and the Assist15 ant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, 

16 and Labor, make recommendations regarding 

17 effective strategies and tactics to achieve a 

18 democratic transition in Iran; 

19 (C) support and promote international ef20 forts to promote human rights and political 

21 freedoms in Iran, including coordination be22 tween the United States and the United Na23 tions, the European Union, the Organization 

24 for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and 

25 countries in the region; 


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1 (D) establish the regional framework de2 scribed in section 6; 

3 (E) coordinate with appropriate offices of 

4 the Department of State, the Department of 

5 Defense, the National Security Council, and 

6 such other agencies as may be necessary to co7 ordinate the establishment and operation of the 

8 regional framework; 

9 (F) serve as point of contact for opposition 

10 groups, nongovernmental organizations, and in11 dividuals and organizations from the Iranian di12 aspora to acquire greater information and re13 porting on conditions in Iran; 

14 (G) coordinate efforts with appropriate de15 partments and agencies of the United States 

16 Government, international organizations, non17 governmental organizations, and individuals and 

18 organizations from the Iranian diaspora to ac19 quire greater information and reporting on con20 ditions in Iran; 

21 (H) oversee funding for, and provide con22 sultative authority with respect to, public and 

23 private broadcasting into Iran; and 


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1 (I) review strategies for improving the pro2 tection of human rights in Iran, including tech3 nical training and exchange programs. 

4 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ESTABLISHMENT OF RE5 GIONAL FRAMEWORK ON HUMAN RIGHTS. 

6 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that human rights ini7 tiatives can be undertaken on a multilateral basis, as dem8 onstrated by the Organization for Security and Coopera9 tion in Europe, which established a regional framework 

10 for discussing human rights, scientific and educational co11 operation, and economic and trade issues. 

12 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con13 gress that the United States Government should explore 

14 the possibility of a regional human rights dialogue on Iran 

15 that is modeled on the Helsinki process established by the 

16 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, en17 gaging in all countries in the region in a common commit18 ment to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. 

19 SEC. 7. OTHER SUPPORT FOR TRANSITION IN IRAN. 

20 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con21 gress that, if the Iranian people successfully restore full 

22 democratic rule to Iran, the United States should fully 

23 support Iran’s transition to a freely elected, open democ24 racy by providing— 


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1 (1) immediate and substantial humanitarian as2 sistance to the Iranian people; and 

3 (2) democracy transition assistance to eligible 

4 Iranian parties and movements with democratic 

5 goals. 

6 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON PLAN FOR UNITED

7 STATES SUPPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall submit 

9 a report to Congress that describes a clear plan for imple10 mentation of this Act, including aid programs, recipients, 

11 and strategies to promote the emergence of a freely elect12 ed, open, and democratic government in Iran. 

13 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS AFTER TRANSITION IN

14 IRAN.—Not later than 90 days after the establishment of 

15 a transitional government in Iran, the President shall sub16 mit a report to Congress, in classified and unclassified 

17 form, that describes a comprehensive plan for United 

18 States support of— 

19 (1) the Iranian people during the transition to 

20 a new, freely elected, open, and democratic govern21 ment; 

22 (2) the new Iranian government’s efforts— 

23 (A) to restore full human rights to the peo24 ple of Iran; and 

25 (B) protect these rights in the future; 


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1 (3) the new Iranian government’s commitment 

2 to dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons program; and 

3 (4) the new Iranian government’s cessation of 

4 Iran’s historical financing and other support of 

5 Hamas, Hezbollah, and other groups designated as 

6 foreign terrorist organizations by the Secretary of 

7 State. 

Æ 


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