Reaction to Iraq's decision to destroy its contentious missiles has been mixed. The United Nation's chief weapons inspector, Dr Hans Blix hailed Iraq's pledge to destroy the banned missiles as "a significant piece of real disarmament".
The United States, however, dismissed Iraq's pledge to dismantle the missiles as "propaganda wrapped in a lie inside a falsehood".
It said the move would still leave Baghdad short of UN demands it give up its alleged weapons of mass destruction. British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the staunchest US ally in the crisis, commenting on Iraq's pledge to destroy the missiles said: "This is not a time for games."
Commenting on the decision to decommission the weapons, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said: "That's the problem with Saddam Hussein. Every time he's under pressure, he tries to relieve the pressure by disarming just a touch, just a little, playing the game, playing the deception,"
US President George W. Bush himself appeared firmly on the track to war. "My attitude about Saddam Hussein is that if he had any intention of disarming, he would have disarmed," he told USA Today.
"We will disarm him now," Bush said.
In Paris, the French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said Iraq's consent on the destruction was "an important step" and "showed UN arms inspections were producing results".
But Fleischer dismissed the idea the Iraqi decision reflected progress towards disarmament. "This is the deception the president predicted," he said.
At the United Nations, deep divisions in the Security Council over the US -British-Spanish draft resolution that opens the door for war showed no signs of closing. Russia, China, France and Germany want arms inspections to continue for at least four more months.
A resolution in the 15-nation council needs a minimum of nine votes and no veto from its five permanent members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
In Egypt, Arab League foreign ministers agreed to a compromise draft declaration on Friday opposing war against Iraq, but it was unlikely to halt the US military buildup in the Gulf, including in several Arab states