Iraq agrees to return of UN arms inspectors

11.45pm

UNITED NATIONS - Iraq has agreed to allow the unconditional return of UN arms inspectors amid an intense lobbying campaign by Washington which was backed up by the threat of US-led military action.

"I can confirm to you that I have received a letter from the Iraqi authorities conveying their decision to allow the return of the inspectors without conditions," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told reporters after receiving a letter from Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri.

"We reached satisfactory results and there is good news," Sabri told reporters after handing the letter over. "The secretary-general ... will announce the good news to you."

UN weapons inspectors, responsible for checking Iraq for nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic weapons, were pulled out of Iraq in December 1998 on the eve of US-British bombing raids and had not been permitted to return.

The details of the letter were not immediately available and it was not clear whether the contents would be acceptable to the United States.

Arab and European leaders had detected signs of Iraqi flexibility on inspections after Saudi Arabia made clear at the weekend that it would back UN-sanctioned action to force Baghdad to disarm.

A Bush administration official said earlier today that Iraq was considering writing to Annan "making some sort of a concession toward readmitting weapons inspectors".

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric de la Riviere said Sabri handed over the letter at a meeting also attended by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa.

Annan will pass the letter to Bulgaria, the current chairman of the UN Security Council, he added.

The US campaign for maximum pressure on Iraq gathered strength over the weekend when Saudi Arabia said it would back action against Iraq if the United Nations approved it.

In another sign of mounting pressure on Saddam, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said that US and British warplanes enforcing no-fly zones in north and south Iraq were taking a more active approach, methodically attacking air defenses.

Iraq had moved missiles and other military equipment close to civilian sites in recent days, mirroring similar movements in the past that signalled Baghdad was feeling under threat, a US official said.

In Iraq, Saddam met his top aides twice on Monday to discuss "the current political situation", the official Iraqi News Agency reported.

The United States and the United Nations insist on an unconditional Iraqi agreement to unrestricted access for the inspectors.

The United States also has a policy of "regime change" in Iraq and has refused to say that compliance with UN resolutions would be enough to avert an attack.

Speculation about readmission of the arms inspectors had been rife.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said: "During the last days and mainly the last hours, there have been lots of rumours concerning the fact the Iraqis may accept the return of inspectors."

Earlier US Secretary of State Colin Powell had said: "The political dynamic has changed and there's a great deal of pressure now being placed on Iraq to come into compliance with the UN mandates of the last 12 years."

Powell, following up on a tough UN speech by President George W. Bush last week, said he and other members of the 15-nation Security Council were working on a new resolution on Iraq to be completed "in the not too distant future".

The United States is lobbying for a strong UN resolution demanding that Iraq disarm, preferably with a threat of severe consequences if Baghdad does not comply.

France wants a two-stage process -- with the first resolution demanding a return of arms inspectors and a second dealing with the potential consequences of refusal.

A US official said the United States expected elements of a resolution to be drafted by Wednesday and wanted the measure circulated among Security Council members by Friday.

"People are putting pen to paper," one diplomat said, adding that talks among all 15 members would begin next week.

- REUTERS

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