Iraq challenges US: Prove we still have weapons of mass destruction

Saddam Hussein's chief weapons adviser challenged the Bush administration yesterday to prove its claim that Iraq still held weapons of mass destruction.

General Amer al-Saadi issued the challenge as a 12,000-page document supposedly detailing all such Iraqi weapons arrived at the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna and at the UN in New York for scrutiny.

In a surprise decision, the UN Security Council agreed to give the United States, Russia, France, China and Britain, the five permanent members, full access to the Iraqi documentation.

The other 10 council members, including Iraq's neighbour Syria, will only see the declaration once it is translated, analyzed and screened for sensitive material, including possible instructions on bomb-making.

Iraq has used the report to assert again that it has no illegal chemical or biological weapons, banned long-range missiles or a clandestine nuclear programme. "Our report is accurate, comprehensive and truthful. If they have anything to the contrary, let them come forth with it. Give it to the UN. They are here. They can check it. Why play this game?" General Saadi said.

In the absence of any admission from Iraq about banned weaponry, attention may focus on the available intelligence, to persuade international public opinion that a war on Iraq is worth fighting.

The Bush administration also came under pressure from American officials who said it was vital to make the case that Iraq is lying. The Senate's Intelligence Committee chairman, Bob Graham, said the US had "compelling evidence" regarding Iraq's weapons.

Richard Lugar, the new Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, added: "It may very well be that the advice of our allies will be that we ought to go very public, that we ought to have worldwide opinion."

But such a strategy carries risks. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has scoffed at Britain's dossier outlining the threat posed by Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Meanwhile, Britain believes that the UN inspections should be allowed to produce results, putting London at odds with the views of leading hawks in Washington. The Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said Britain had "total confidence" in the weapons inspectors.

There is also growing concern at the UN over what is seen as an attempt by the Bush administration to sideline its inspectors and make its own investigation into Iraq.

The US has refused to hand over intelligence about the issue to the UN. According to senior sources, Washington will demand a say in forming a separate inspection team that can be trusted with American intelligence.

It will perform a series of fast, surprise searches of sites in Iraq which, Washington hopes, will uncover the secrets of Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear programmes.