Iraq's parliament held an emergency session on Wednesday with loyal deputies pledging to lay down their lives for President Saddam Hussein as a deadline for a U.S.-led attack neared. "We'll sacrifice our blood and souls for Saddam," several legislators chanted, waving their fists in the air and drawing applause from others in the chamber as the session started.

Echoing defiant statements from the top Iraqi leadership and Saddam's own family, legislators rejected a U.S. ultimatum for their president to leave the country within hours or be overthrown by an invasion.

"It is unthinkable for Saddam Hussein to leave," Speaker Saadoun Hammadi told reporters after the session, which concluded with lawmakers sending a letter of allegiance to Saddam and vowing to defend Iraq.

President Bush gave Saddam until early Thursday Baghdad time to leave Iraq or be overthrown by force. As parliament met, a Saudi diplomatic source told Reuters that neighboring Saudi Arabia was trying to persuade Saddam to go, while Iraq's information minister warned that invaders would face "definite death."

Hammadi told deputies, all loyal to Saddam, that they would rally behind their leader and dismissed U.S. threats to invade Iraq if he did not leave the country.

"The people of Iraq, who gave us this responsibility by electing us, stand today as one rank, as one voice, as one rifle against the criminal aggression of the U.S. and its allies," parliament said in its letter to Saddam.

"We pledge to you that we will follow the path of heroism and martyrdom and we will all be martyrs defending Iraq."

"PHARAOH OF OUR TIME"

In a separate news conference, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf said U.S. and British commanders were deceiving their troops by predicting an easy victory over Iraq.

"This is a stupid lie they are telling their soldiers. What they are facing is definite death," he said.

In parliament, Hammadi said Iraq was not the country that would accept what the U.S. administration dictates.

"We reject and denounce it and we are all standing together behind our leader, and we're ready to defend our land. The fate of invaders is the same -- failure and the curse of history.

A succession of deputies, some in traditional Arab dress, most in Western-style suits, addressed the chamber, unanimously rejecting the U.S. ultimatum and pledging loyalty to Saddam.

Some warned the United States would face "unexpected" reprisals if it went ahead with its pledge to invade.

One deputy also called on Muslims to attack U.S. interests across the world, while others called on Bush to go into exile, one denouncing him as the "pharaoh of our time."

"The whole world has a right to say to little Bush: step down you rabid criminal. Step down you pharaoh of our time, you Nero...before you burn America and spread more discord in the world!" bellowed deputy Khaled Abdel Aziz Salim.

Bush has said that Saddam and his two sons must leave Iraq by the Thursday deadline or face invasion by some 280,000 U.S. and British forces massed in the Gulf.

Iraqi state television reported on Tuesday that Saddam had rejected the deadline and had vowed to fight, while his eldest son Uday also dismissed the ultimatum.

PHOTO CAPTION

Members of the Iraqi parliament listen to the speaker of the Iraqi parliament during an emergency session March 19, 2003. The speaker said Wednesday it was 'unthinkable' President Saddam Hussein would comply with a U.S. ultimatum to flee the country within hours to avert an invasion. Photo by Faleh Kheiber/Reuters Hammadin, speaker of the Iraqi parliament, told reporters after an emergency session of parliament which concluded with lawmakers sending a letter of allegiance toSaddam and vowing to lay down their lives defending Iraq .