Iraqi reservations prompt US warning

The warning - from US Secretary of State Colin Powell - came after Baghdad indicated it may challenge the UN Security Council resolution approved unanimously last week.

Baghdad grudgingly agreed to the return of the inspectors in a letter delivered to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in which it spoke of "dealing" with the resolution despite "its bad contents".

But the nine-page letter also concluded with a warning that Baghdad would be sending another document laying out the clauses of the resolution which it deems contrary to international law.

The insertion has prompted some speculation that the Iraqis may challenge the weapons inspections team, which is due to arrive in Iraq on Monday with a mandate to inspect all suspected weapons' sites.

Inspections are expected to begin in December, with a report to the UN Security Council due in February, although inspectors may notify any infringements any time before then.

Crucial call

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Powell warned Baghdad not to block the inspections, adding that Saddam Hussein had no choice but to comply with the resolution.

"We expect co-operation," he warned.

Crucially, what still remains unclear is who will decide whether Iraq has met the terms of the resolution - the US or the Security Council.

The BBC's Jon Leyne in Washington says it is this decision which could make the difference between war or peace.

Iraq had been given until Friday to accept the resolution, or face "serious consequences". There was some surprise that the letter had been delivered two days in advance of the deadline.

Although the Iraqi parliament unanimously rejected the proposal on Tuesday, Saddam Hussein took the final decision.

Next steps
18 Nov: Inspectors to arrive in Iraq
8 Dec: Iraq must reveal all programmes, plants and materials which could be used for weapons production
23 Dec: Inspections must resume
21 Feb: Inspectors to report to UN Security Council

"The government found that it was better to say yes for two reasons," said Iraqi MP Mohammed Muzaffar Adhami.

"One is to avoid for the region and Iraq this threat of launching again aggression against Iraq by the Americans, and the second is to prove that we are a clean country, we don't have weapons of mass destruction."

The next deadline now facing the Iraqi regime is 8 December, when it must make a complete declaration of its weapons programmes. In its letter to Mr Annan, it insisted it had none.

Any statements which prove to be false could be used by the Americans as justification for war.