Blix warns Iraq to come clean with UN before deadline

Hans Blix, the chief weapons inspector, has warned Iraq against insisting that it has no weapons of mass destruction beyond the deadline of 8 December set by a UN resolution for Baghdad to give a full account of its production of prohibited armaments.

Speaking on the same day that a first contingent of qualified inspectors touched down in Baghdad, Mr Blix said that Iraq had continued to claim it was free of weapons of mass destruction during talks in Baghdad between Iraqi officials and himself last week.

"They maintained the position that they had until now ­ that there are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. I simply said they should look into all their stores and stock and this was a fundamental part of the declaration," he said after briefing the UN Security Council on his talks. He noted that Iraq had failed in the past to account for quantities of mustard gas it had previously produced.

The Security Council extended the humanitarian oil-for-food programme for Iraq for just nine days last night after Washington refused to renew the plan for the usual six months unless the council barred more goods going to Baghdad. The council agreed to extend the programme so that talks could continue. The oil-for-food deal allows Iraq to sell unlimited quantities of oil, with revenues going into a UN account that pays the sellers of goods that Iraq has ordered.

Preparing for possible war, the US, in particular the Pentagon, has linked extension of the plan to scrutiny of a "goods review list" of civilian supplies that could have military uses.

The first team of 17 inspectors was scheduled to run its first operation tomorrow in a target area near Baghdad. They are expected to follow up with several more searches in the coming week. The inspections, the first since the UN pulled out just before air raids by the United States and Britain in December 1998, will be "no warning" in nature, with the Iraqis being told of destinations only at the last minute.

Among the inspectors on the ground last night are representatives from North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the last coming from Jordan. The team also includes two women. Eleven inspectors are from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (Unmovic) while another six are from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The former will be led by Dimitri Perricos and the latter by Jacques Barte, who were both in Iraq with the last inspections.

The inspectors, staying at the al-Hayat Hotel in Baghdad, will begin with a briefing today at the UN headquarters at the Canal Hotel. The first search is expected to begin in the early hours of tomorrow morning. The raids on the most sensitive suspected sites are not due to take place in the near future, because the UN has not yet established a secure communication network. Its fleet of helicopters, stationed at al-Rashid air base, also needs to be serviced and repaired.

It is these sites ­ President Saddam's palaces and ministries ­ which the Americans believe are most likely to yield evidence of material breaches of the UN resolution by Iraq.

Asked about Iraqi claims that they do not possess any weapons of mass destruction, an IAEA spokeswoman, Melissa Fleming, said: "We have come with an open mind, we are not here to believe anything at this point. Actions will speak louder than words. We are fully prepared, and we expect the first inspection to go ahead as we had planned."

Hiro Ueki, a spokesman for Unmovic, added: "The new resolution allows us, of course, to go anywhere and interview anyone. However, we want to do this in co-operation with the Iraqis and without confrontation." The inspections are beginning amid protests from the Iraqi government to the UN that the new resolution under which they are taking place is illegal under international law, and designed to give America a pretext to attack.

A total of 333 inspectors are to make up the mission. They will include chemists, biologists and missile and ordnance experts. About 20 tons of equipment has already been flown to Baghdad from Larnaca, Cyprus, including communications equipment, furniture and medical supplies.