IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 501
Recognizing and supporting Iranians in their daily struggle for democracy 
and reform, encouraging the Islamic Republic of Iran to conduct open 
and fair elections, and urging the President of the United States to 
engage with and support Iranians in their struggle for freedom and 
democracy. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 23, 2004
Mr. TANCREDO submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing and supporting Iranians in their daily struggle 
for democracy and reform, encouraging the Islamic Re-
public of Iran to conduct open and fair elections, and 
urging the President of the United States to engage 
with and support Iranians in their struggle for freedom 
and democracy.
Whereas politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran remains al-
most entirely the province of the clerical authorities who 
assumed control of the country after the ouster of Mo-
hammad Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1979; 
Whereas the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran 
appoints the head of the judiciary, the clergy members on 
the powerful Council of Guardians, the commanders of all
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the armed forces, Friday prayer leaders, and the head of 
radio and television, and also confirms the president’s 
election, thus rendering him the most powerful person in 
Iranian politics with little accountability within the polit-
ical system; 
Whereas members of the Council of Guardians, who are cho-
sen by the Supreme Leader, must vet all candidates for 
election based on their political predispositions, as well as 
all legislation before it can be entered into law; 
Whereas one of the leaders of the reformist coalition, former 
Interior Minister Hojjatoleslam Abdollah Nouri, was 
jailed on religious dissent charges in November 1999, 
preventing him from leading the reformist movement in 
the 2001 elections; 
Whereas several prominent figures in the Islamist Iran Free-
dom Movement were barred from running in the 2000 
parliamentary elections, including Dr. Ibrahim Yazdi, 
who was excluded from standing as a candidate in 
Tehran on the spurious grounds that he did not hold a 
higher education degree, even though he in fact holds a 
Ph.D.; Ezatollah Sahabi, a former minister and an out-
spoken critic of the government who was excluded for 
being a member of a prohibited political party, but was 
in fact not a member of any political party; and Parviz 
Varjavand, also a former minister and a member of the 
National Front party, who was excluded on the grounds 
that the National Front party was an illegal organization, 
even though there have been no legal proceedings estab-
lishing the illegality of this party; 
Whereas conservatives in the judiciary have closed more than 
60 reformist newspapers and imprisoned or questioned 
several editors and even some members of the parliament;
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Whereas the Council of Guardians, in anticipation of the 
February 2004 parliamentary elections, warned that they 
would disqualify candidates whom they deemed to oppose 
the Supreme Leader’s absolute rule; 
Whereas, although the Supreme Leader later stated that they 
should be permitted to seek reelection, more than 80 in-
cumbents, all reformists, were initially disqualified by the 
Council of Guardians from seeking another term in the 
February 2004 parliamentary elections, according to the 
official Islamic Republic News Agency; 
Whereas members of parliament have said that, in all, about 
900 of the 1,700 candidates who wanted to contest seats 
in the parliament have been disqualified; 
Whereas the disqualified legislators include two deputy speak-
ers of parliament, Mohammad Reza Khatami, the young-
er brother of the president and leader of the reformist Is-
lamic Iran Participation Front, and Behzad Nabavi; 
Whereas the Council of Guardians also disqualified Fatemeh 
Haqiqatjou and Elaheh Koulaee, two female legislators 
who have fought for women’s rights; 
Whereas Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights guarantees certain rights ‘‘without dis-
tinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, 
religion, political or other opinion, national or social ori-
gin, property, birth or other status’’; 
Whereas the Council of Guardians’ practice of disqualifying 
candidates on the basis of their political proclivities runs 
directly contrary to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s obliga-
tions under Article 25 of the International Covenant on 
Civil and Political Rights, which states: ‘‘Every citizen 
shall have the right and the opportunity, without any of
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the distinctions mentioned in article 2 and without unrea-
sonable restrictions: (a) To take part in the conduct of 
public affairs, directly or through freely chosen represent-
atives; (b) To vote and to be elected at genuine periodic 
elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage 
and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free 
expression of the will of the electors’’; 
Whereas there exists a broad-based movement and desire for 
political change in the Islamic Republic of Iran that rep-
resents all sectors of Iranian society, including youth, 
women, students, military personnel, and religious fig-
ures, and that is prodemocratic, seeking freedom and eco-
nomic opportunity; and 
Whereas the Iranian people have increasingly expressed frus-
tration at the slow pace of reform, while still pursuing 
nonviolent change in their society: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) recognizes and supports the people of the 
Islamic Republic of Iran in their daily struggle for 
democracy, reform, human rights, and the rule of 
law; 
(2) makes a clear distinction between peace-lov-
ing Iranians, who desire a free and open democracy, 
and unelected Iranian officials; 
(3) encourages the Islamic Republic of Iran, in 
all of its institutions of government, to do everything 
in its power to ensure open and fair elections, and
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conduct the elections with transparency and integ-
rity; and 
(4) urges the President of the United States to 
engage with and support the people of the Islamic 
Republic of Iran and their legitimate aspiration for 
freedom and democracy, to continue to pursue areas 
of common interest with Iranians while taking an 
uncompromising stance on terrorism, weapons of 
mass destruction, and the human rights of Iranian 
citizens, and to use all available diplomatic means to 
support the Iranian people’s demand for an imme-
diate release of all political prisoners and for re-
moval of the ban on freedom of the press.
Æ