Iraq has announced it's broken off all co-operation with the United Nations commission overseeing its disarmament, with immediate effect.

The Iraqis have been refusing to allow UN inspectors do to any work in the country since August, accusing them of following hardline American positions to prolong economic sanctions.

The BBC Correspondent in Baghdad says Iraq has now escalated the tension, and is expected to dismantle high-technology cameras and monitoring equipment which have been automatically sending information from key sites by satellite to UN headquarters in New York.

However, the Iraqi statement made it clear that the International Atomic Energy Agency would be allowed to continue its monitoring operations in the country.

The new move follows a decision on Friday by the Security Council to review Iraq's compliance with UN resolutions -- but without any guarantee that this would lead to a lifting of sanctions.