Iraqi offer greeted with widespread scepticism

Leadership's hint that it will let UN arms inspectors return for first time in four years drives a wedge between the big powers

The United States and Britain accused Saddam Hussein yesterday of "playing games" after the Iraqi leadership unexpectedly invited the chief UN weapons inspector to Baghdad for talks.

Although Washington and London did not totally dismiss the Iraqi offer, which instantly opened up old divisions among the big powers on the security council, officials said inspectors must have unfettered access to anywhere they demanded.

Naji Sabri, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, made the surprise overture in a letter delivered to the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, on Thursday, inviting Hans Blix, head of the UN weapons inspectors, to visit Baghdad for fresh talks on resuming inspections.

Responding cautiously yesterday, Mr Annan decided to discuss it with the security council on Monday after realising that the Iraqis were still insisting on terms that have so far proved unacceptable.

The letter arrived as President George Bush reaffirmed his goal of instigating a "regime change" in Iraq. It seemed to indicate Baghdad was now taking seriously the threat of US military action to dislodge the Iraqi leader..

Iraq's UN ambassador, Mohammed al-Douri, hinted that his country would defend itself if it was invaded. "This is a political and diplomatic way to defend ourselves. They are always accusing us of not permitting those people and now we say we are ready to lay the ground to allow the inspectors," he said.

While both America and Britain, its main ally in taking a hard line on Iraq, voiced scepticism over the latest Iraqi gesture, other permanent members of the Security Council, notably Russia, moved quickly to encourage a visit to Baghdad by Mr Blix. Russia is opposed to any military action in Iraq. Most Middle Eastern governments have also voiced alarm.

A British Foreign Office minister said: "Saddam has a long history of playing games."

The Russian Foreign Ministry took a different stance. "Moscow considers Iraq's proposal to be an important step towards solving the present problems through diplomatic and political means," a statement said.

America did not reject the letter out of hand yesterday, although Mr Bush reiterated that he was considering an array of "tools" to depose the Iraqi leader. "Iraq knows what it must do, and that is to submit to international inspection and to disarm," a White House official said.

The development came hours after a visit to the White House by King Abdullah of Jordan, who described American plans to invade Iraq as "somewhat ludicrous".

Devoid of much of the bellicose rhetoric that usually accompanies Iraqi statements on the issue, Mr Sabri's letter ­ on the eve of the 12th anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait ­ hinted that allowing the resumption of inspections was now a real possibility after a nearly four-year hiatus.

UN inspectors were withdrawn from Iraq in December 1998 before an Anglo-American bombing raid was launched to punish the country for failing to co-operate fully.

In his letter, Mr Sabri said talks with Mr Blix, chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, (Unmovic), should be arranged to "establish a solid basis for the next stage of monitoring and inspection activities and to move forward to that stage". He suggested that the meeting take place "at the earliest agreed-upon time".

United Nations officials said the secretary general was disquieted by the details of the letter, which suggested Iraq wanted to negotiate the terms of the inspectors' mission before they were readmitted. The UN says the opposite: that inspectors must go in and decide what they need to do for themselves.

A spokesman said that while Mr Annan "welcomes the letter, which is in line with the agreement to maintain contact, including discussion of technical matters, the procedures proposed are at variance with ones laid down by the security council in its resolution of 1999". Sanctions against Iraq will only be lifted when it is certified to be free of weapons of mass destruction.

Other UN sources confirmed that the letter was problematic. "They are trying to trap us here," said one source close to Mr Blix, emphasising that any discussion about the exact mission of the inspectors could only happen after they had been readmitted.

Whatever the doubts, however, for the UN or America to ignore the invitation will be hard. At the least, it threatens to complicate any movement in Washington towards approving a military assault. America will have scant support for an invasion if other countries believe a diplomatic option remains.

The White House is apparently still trying to pursue leads that might connect the 11 September attacks with Iraq. The Los Angeles Times reported that officials still believed the hijacker Mohammed Atta secretly met five months earlier with an Iraqi agent in Prague, an indication that the Iraqi regime was involved in the terrorist attacks. A senior Bush official said that evidence of the long-disputed meeting in Prague "holds up".

The players - what they're saying about Saddam's illegal weapons arsenal

Saddam Hussein

The President has been preparing his top brass to withstand a US attack for months. He says claims of his intention to make weapons of mass destruction are "a joke". His latest offer on inspections shows his success in pitting the big powers against each other.

Naji Sabri

Iraq's Foreign Minister has claimed arms inspectors want to return to update intelligence for a possible invasion. Until now, Iraq has said a deal on their return must include a route to lifting sanctions, stoppingthreats of "regime change" and ending Anglo-American no-fly zones.

Amer Al-Saadi

The suave Iraqi general, who has been a leading member of Iraq's technical delegation for years, argues that inspectors should resolve outstanding disarmament issues before they set foot in Baghdad. Iraq insists all weapons of mass destruction have been destroyed.

Kofi Annan

The UN secretary general has insisted inspectors must be let back in, and is worried by Iraq's stated preconditions. Yesterday, he put to the Security Council the matter of Hans Blix's invitation to hold talks in Baghdad so soon after his own failed negotiations in Vienna.

Hans Blix

The chief UN weapons inspector wants to verify Iraqi claims over the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, notably 8.4 tonnes of anthrax. Iraq has admitted producing 3.9 tonnes of VX nerve gas, and the inspectors do not know how much of it has been destroyed.

Richard Butler

The Australian diplomat, who was Mr Blix's predecessor as chief weapons inspector, warned Washington this week that Iraq might be close to developing a nuclear bomb. Iraqi defectors suggest President Saddam might be reactivating a programme to build a nuclear weapon.

George Bush

The US President remains serious about overthrowing the Iraqi leader and said this week he was looking at "all tools" to do so. But the Bush administration remains deeply divided despite months of preparation for an invasion of Iraq that would topple President Saddam.

Tony Blair

The Prime Minister has been the most vociferous backer of George Bush over a possible attack on Iraq. But according to King Abdullah of Jordan, privately he is worried about the consequences of an invasion and has grave reservations about US policy being driven by hawks.

Jacques Chirac

The French President insists that any attack on Iraq must be approved by the United Nations. France is pivotal in the Iraq crisis because the country has a foot in both camps – as a friend of Iraq, but also as a Western power with a Security Council veto.