Mr. Butler's comments in New York have brought forth a deluge of strong words from at least three senior Iraqi officials.

In particular, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tariq Aziz, who held a series of talks with Mr. Butler earlier in the week said the head of the UN weapons' inspectors had shown himself to be unobjective and inaccurate.

He accused Mr. Butler of working with the United States to try to escalate the current crisis between Iraq and the UN.

What seems to have induced the anger of the Iraqi government is Mr. Butler's statement that he finally had evidence to believe that prohibited items were being kept in presidential sites where weapons' inspectors have been denied access by the Iraqi authorities, saying these sites represented the national sovereignty of Iraq.

But the Iraqi Minister of Information asked why Mr. Butler did not reveal this new evidence, or why he did not mention it during his recent visit to Iraq.