Iraq agreed on Monday to the unconditional return of U.N. arms inspectors in a high-stakes face-off with the United States over disarmament, but the White House was skeptical and warned the world not to be taken in by Baghdad's "tactics."
After delivering a letter from the Iraqi government to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan agreeing to readmit the inspectors, Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said: "We reached satisfactory results and there is good news."

The White House, which staged an intense campaign at the United Nations and threatened military action to force Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to disarm, said it would press on anyway to get a new U.N. resolution demanding Iraqi compliance.

World oil prices, which had been running at 19-month highs on fears of possible military action, fell sharply on the news of Iraq's decision. U.S. light crude futures fell dlrs1.41 to dlrs 28.26 a barrel.

Although the Iraqi decision appeared likely to erode momentum against Saddam built up since President Bush addressed the United Nations last Thursday, there was no sign it would sway Bush's commitment to work for Saddam's removal from power, a long-established U.S. policy.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said a "new, effective U.N. Security Council resolution that will actually deal with the threat Saddam Hussein poses" was still needed despite Iraq's offer.

"This is a tactical step by Iraq in hopes of avoiding strong U.N. Security Council action. As such, it is a tactic that will fail," McClellan said in a statement. The White House stressed there would be no negotiating with Saddam.

U.N. weapons inspectors, responsible for checking Iraq for nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic weapons, were pulled out of Iraq in December 1998 on the eve of U.S.-British bombing raids and have not been permitted to return.

The United States and the United Nations insist on an unconditional Iraqi agreement to unrestricted access for the inspectors.

U.N. inspectors who did go in during the 1990s complained of hindrance and deceit by the Iraqis, while Baghdad accused them of spying for the United States.

CAUTION PREVAILS

Many countries around the world, including some of Washington's closest allies, have shared U.S. condemnation of Saddam but wanted to steer the United States away from taking unilateral military action.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov welcomed Iraq's decision, which he said had shifted the crisis away from a potential military conflict.

"As a result of Iraq's agreement to accept inspectors without any conditions, we have managed to deflect the threat of a military scenario and to steer the process back into a political channel," Ivanov said according to Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer offered a cautious early welcome to the Iraqi position. "On the face of it, without wishing to be locked into this position, it does sound like a promising development," he told Melbourne radio.

Daryl Kimball, who heads the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said after the move by Baghdad: "This is reason for hope, but this is just the beginning of the process, not the end."

The Iraqi letter said Baghdad had based its decision "on its desire to complete the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and to remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destruction."

It said this was a first step toward a "comprehensive solution" that should include the lifting of U.N. sanctions imposed for Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Bush said last week Saddam posed a "grave and gathering danger" and mentioned several U.N. resolutions that were being flouted, but his main demand was for the unrestricted return of weapons inspectors.

A senior European Union official said: "The question now is whether the Americans will take 'yes' for an answer."

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said the Security Council would consider whether a new resolution would still be needed in the light of Iraq's change of heart.

"Different options are open. We will discuss with our Security Council partners what might be needed once the inspectors are to return," Villepin told reporters.

He said he thought the inspectors could be back in Iraq "within a few days, if not a few weeks."

Other Security Council diplomats said they believed the council would probably adopt a new resolution anyway demanding that Iraq cooperate with the inspectors.

Annan said he believed Bush's U.N. speech had "galvanized the international community as almost every speaker in the General Assembly urged Iraq to accept the return of the inspectors."

MILITARY ACTIVITY

The U.S. campaign for maximum pressure on Iraq gathered strength over the weekend when Saudi Arabia said it would back action against Iraq if the United Nations approved it.

In another sign of mounting pressure on Saddam, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said U.S. and British warplanes enforcing no-fly zones in north and south Iraq were taking a more active approach, methodically attacking air defenses.

The number of air strikes has increased in recent weeks, although military officials have insisted they were in response to Iraqi attempts to shoot down planes and not linked with any possible wider military initiative.

Separately, a U.S. official said Iraq had moved missiles and other military equipment close to civilian sites in recent days, mirroring similar movements in the past that signaled Baghdad was feeling under threat.

In Iraq, Saddam met his top aides twice on Monday to discuss "the current political situation," the official Iraqi News Agency reported.

The United States has been lobbying for a strong U.N. resolution demanding that Iraq disarm, preferably with a threat of severe consequences if Baghdad does not comply.

France, before the Iraqi announcement, wanted a two-stage process -- with the first resolution demanding a return of arms inspectors and a second dealing with the potential consequences of refusal.

After the sudden Iraqi concession, U.N. diplomats were working to formulate their own countries' response and considering how best to keep pressure on Saddam to allow free inspections.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, under intense world diplomatic pressure backed by the threat of U.S. military action, agreed on September 16, 2002 to readmit United Nations weapons inspectors without conditions. Shown is the letter presented to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan by the Iraqi delegation. (Pool via Reuters)