Iraq has accused the United States of planning air strikes to plant fake chemical or germ warfare evidence at sites declared out of bounds to UN inspectors.

The warning against a "wicked American conspiracy" was issued after a meeting of the Revolutionary Command Council and the Regional Command of the ruling Baath party, chaired by President Saddam Hussein.

Washington has dismissed the allegations.

The meeting of Iraqi leaders on Friday discussed the crisis over Baghdad's refusal to allow inspection of "presidential sites".

The US says these may be used to evade Gulf War ceasefire terms that bar Iraq from holding weapons of mass destruction.

"America is likely to launch military strikes on these sites and others using mass destruction weapons which contain chemical and biological elements so that it can say, after the strikes, that its allegations were right," an official spokesman told the Iraqi news agency INA.

"It is quite necessary to warn against such a wicked American conspiracy, which is confirmed by well-informed sources."

A White House spokesman called the allegation "ridiculous". He added: "We do not have these weapons in our operational inventory."

Baghdad has declared "presidential sites" off-limits to the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) in charge of dismantling Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

It says the sites are vital for its security and sovereignty.

The spokesman said: "After six and a half years of activities by the Special Commission and thousands of inspections, they know that Iraq is completely free of chemical and biological weapons."

He added that Iraq would not accept the continuation of UN sanctions imposed over its 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

UNSCOM chairman Richard Butler held talks this month with Iraqi officials but failed to persuade them to let his inspectors enter the sites.

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