Saddam climbs down: UN inspectors to be let into Baghdad ministry after Iraqi defiance breaks

IRAQ'S will to defy the international community collapsed yesterday, in the face of explicit threats that air attacks would be resumed by the Gulf war allies if it did not allow international weapons inspectors to search a key government building in Baghdad.

The breakthrough was announced last night when Rolf Ekeus, the Swedish-born head of the Special UN Commission on Iraq, told a press conference that he was satisfied with the agreement reached with the Iraqi ambassador to the UN, Abdul Amir al-Anbari to allow a disputed inspection to proceed. 'I feel that the immediate problem is now settled,' he said.

The agreement came after days of rising tension over Iraq's refusal over 21 days to allow UN inspectors access to the Ministry of Agriculture in Baghdad, which they suspected housed documents and other material related to Iraqi weapons programmes. The United States, France and Britain were said to be preparing an ultimatum for Iraq to comply with UN resolutions or face military action, and senior US officials warned before news of the accord last night that UN access to the ministry building would not be enough to satisfy Washington.

The White House national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, said that Washington still wanted full compliance with all UN resolutions. Military force could be taken 'to point out that there's a severe price to pay by not abiding by the UN resolutions' and would not be 'a pinprick'.

Mr Anbari said that the UN had met Iraq's demands for respect for its sovereignty and national security. Mr Ekeus said that no such concessions had been made. Iraq's rights of sovereignty had been superseded by the UN ceasefire resolution. The UN would respect legitimate Iraqi concerns, but 'we don't consider (it) legitimate to hide weapons or try to cheat us'.

Mr Ekeus went on to say that it was the threat of military action that 'helped', because of the difficulty in getting Saddam Hussein's government to take the UN seriously. However, Iraq is also challenging the organisation on a number of other fronts, including the location of its border with Kuwait, the sale of oil to pay war compensation and humanitarian efforts to protect the Kurds. The acting US Secretary of State, Lawrence Eagleburger, said that Iraq would have to co-operate with the UN across the board, for the latest crisis to be resolved.

President George Bush said last night that President Saddam had lied about the extent of Iraq's weapons programmes and its agreement to let UN inspectors back into the country did not change that. 'While Saddam has bent to the will of the United Nations the question remains' whether the Iraqi leader can be trusted despite having 'caved in' in the latest crisis, he said.

Although a bombing offensive against Iraq might have led Americans to rally around the flag it had many perils for the White House, the most serious of which was the fear that the Iraqi leader would simply refuse to give in.

The only concession to Iraq by the UN is that the team entering the Ministry of Agriculture building will not draw on personnel from countries which took part in the Gulf war. The team of six will be led by a German and include Swedes, Swiss and Russians. Iraq claims the UN special weapons commission is dominated by US and allied intelligence personnel but it has agreed to permit two Americans, and a Russian inspector will remain outside the building. Mr Ekeus will also accompany the inspectors.

The conclusion to the latest confrontation between Iraq and the UN inspectors is very similar to four previous incidents over the past year. In all cases Iraq at first resisted snap inspection of buildings, there was a prolonged standoff and then, at the last moment, Iraq abruptly backed down. The point Saddam Hussein wants to make is that Iraqi compliance cannot be taken for granted.

In practical terms granting access to the building is not a major concession and it is doubtful whether any compromising documents will be found after so long.

Edge of the quagmire, page 11

Leading article, page 18