The resolution offers support to the Iranian people who are struggling for democracy, freedom and respect for human rights in Iran. An un-elected supreme leader continues to exercise control over all functions of the Iranian state. Through this ideological dictatorship, the government of Iran is directly involved in supporting terrorism and the development of weapons of mass destruction.

The resolution offers the respect of the American people to the contributions of Iranian culture and recognises the support of real democratic forces within Iran. It calls upon the United States government to support the Iranian people’s aspirations for real freedom.

"They are unwilling or unable to produce any tangible democratic changes," Senator Wyden said. "In fact, the record of the Khatami administration has been one of increasing censorship, religious vigilantism and intimidation, and widespread political repression."

Senator Wyden noted the U.S. State Department has cited Iran for systematic human rights abuses, including summary executions, disappearances, and widespread use of torture.

"Frequent demonstrations by students; women and religious dissidents in Iran suggest there is a yearning for democratic change among the Iranian people", he added.

Tom Lantos, who is introducing a similar resolution in the House, shared his observation.

"The Iranian people want nothing more than democracy, equality between men and women, religious freedom, and to become part and parcel of the civilized world in the 21st century", Congressman Lantos said.

"We think the administration and the three of us are on the same wavelength here in terms of trying to get a new, fresh policy with respect to Iran", Senator Wyden completed.

The lawmakers said their resolution mirrored a shift in U.S. President George W. Bush's policy toward the Islamic republic, to increasingly reach out directly to the Iranian people seeking reforms and bypass the government of President Mohammad Khatami.

President Bush signalled the change publicly in a strongly worded presidential statement in which he praised large pro-democracy street demonstrations in Iran.

In the statement, Mr. Bush said "uncompromising, destructive policies have persisted" in Iran despite recent presidential and parliamentary elections that have brought reform advocates to power. He accused Iranian leaders and their families of continuing to obstruct reform while reaping unfair benefits" and demanded that the government listen to the Iranian people, who he said have "no better friend than the United States."

But White House spokesman Ari Fleischer created confusion when, while acknowledging U.S. concerns about what he called Iran's support for terrorism and it’s opposition to Middle East peace efforts, denied a "Washington Post"’s report, saying that U.S. officials would continue to engage Iranian officials directly when useful.

In an article published earlier this week, the paper reported the Bush administration had abandoned efforts to find ways of working with the Iranian government.

The policy shift, which scuttles a five-year effort in which the United States tried to explore ways to work with Khatami and encourage a reform agenda in Iran, follows an intensive review within the administration over whether to adopt a harder line toward a government President Bush has labelled part of the "axis of evil", the paper added.

A senior administration official said Bush has concluded with his senior foreign policy advisers that Khatami and his supporters in the government "are too weak, ineffective and not serious about delivering on their promises" to transform Iranian society. Instead, the official said, "we have made a conscious decision to associate with the aspirations of Iranian people. We will not play, if you like, the factional politics of reform versus hard-line".

Khatami took office in 1997 and was re-elected last year by a wide majority. He has been viewed as more open-minded to relations with the United States and to opening up Iran to democratic reforms than Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneh’i, and his fellow clerics. The Clinton and Bush administrations, until now, had sought t probe whether Khatami would prove to be a fruitful alternative to the fundamentalists.

Senator Wyden said Mr. Khatami and his reformist allies have not made good on those promises.

"All the calculations about Mr. Khatami being a reformist were based on an illusion. Khatami never proposed any project for reform. He didn't offer any laws in favor of women, for example, or releasing political prisoners, or reducing the number of executions, or preventing the closure of the newspapers", noted Mr. Amir Taheri, an Iranian journalist during a "Q&A" programme aired by "CNN" on Thursday.

The draft of the resolution, which has not yet been introduced, says legitimising the regime in Iran "stifles the growth of genuine democratic forces", and says "positive gestures" should be directed toward the Iranian people "and not political figures whose survival depends upon preservation of the current regime."

"Intelligence sources in our own country and abroad predict that Iran will become a nuclear power within three to five years. Then, we will not have the choice of merely backing dissidents in their search for democracy – we will come face to face with empowered evil.

Efforts to engage the regime are counterproductive to real progress within Iran and engagement with the current regime undermines the real democratic constituencies in Iranian society and provides a facade of international legitimacy to an illegitimate regime.

While the Bush administration has focused on Iraq and threatened military action to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the lawmakers said Iran must be kept in mind as the country was expected to have nuclear weapons in three to five years.

"There has been an enormous amount of attention and emphasis lately on Iraq, which I think is appropriate. But there has been very little discussion of the equally pernicious and dangerous nature of the Iranian regime," said Lantos, senior House International Relations Committee Democrat.

The lawmakers said the resolution did not call for U.S. military action against the current Iranian government.

The non-binding resolution, which would not have the force of law, does not specify how the United States should appeal to pro-democracy supporters in Iran.

Here is the full text of the draft Congressional resolution:

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

Senator Brownback submitted the following resolution;

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Senate concerning the continuous repression of freedoms within Iran and of individual human rights abuses, particularly with regard to women.

Whereas the people of the United States respect the Iranian people and value the contributions that Iran’s culture has made to world civilization for over 3 millennia;

Whereas the Iranian people aspire to democracy, civil, political, and religious rights, and the rule of law, as evidenced by increasingly frequent antigovernment and anti-Khatami demonstrations within Iran and by statements of numerous Iranian expatriates and dissidents;

Whereas Iran is an ideological dictatorship presided over by an unelected Supreme Leader with limitless veto power, an unelected Expediency Council and Council of Guardians capable of eviscerating any reforms, and a President elected only after the aforementioned disqualified 234 other candidates for being too liberal, reformist, or secular;

Whereas the United States recognizes the Iranian peoples’ concerns that President Mohammad Khatami’s rhetoric has not been matched by his actions;

Whereas President Khatami clearly lacks the ability and inclination to change the behaviour of the State of Iran either toward the vast majority of Iranians who seek freedom or toward the international community;

Whereas political repression, newspaper censorship, corruption, vigilante intimidation, arbitrary imprisonment of students, and public executions have increased since President Khatami’s inauguration in 1997;

Whereas men and women are not equal under the laws of Iran and women are legally deprived of their basic rights;

Whereas the Iranian government shipped 50-tons of sophisticated weaponry to the Palestinian Authority despite Chairman Arafat’s cease-fire agreement, consistently seeks to undermine the Middle East peace process, provides safe-haven to al-Qa’ida and Taliban terrorists, allows transit of arms for guerrillas seeking to undermine our ally Turkey, provides transit of terrorists seeking to destabilise the United States-protected safe-haven in Iraq, and develops weapons of mass destruction;

Whereas since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and despite rhetorical protestations to the contrary, the Government of Iran has actively and repeatedly sought to undermine the United States war on terror;

Whereas there is a broad-based movement for change in Iran that represents all sectors of Iranian society, including youth, women, student bodies, military personnel, and even religious figures, that is pro-democratic, believes in secular government, and is yearning to live in freedom;

Whereas following the tragedies of September 11, 2001, tens of thousands of Iranians filled the streets spontaneously and in solidarity with the United States and the victims of the terrorist attacks; and

Whereas the people of Iran deserve the Support of the American people: Now, therefore be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that ---