Reports that Iraq may have nuclear weapons in three years underline the need to contain President Saddam Hussein, the US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, said yesterday.
The reports, from German intelligence, should reinforce to Arab countries "that we have to reinforce the UN resolutions that Saddam Hussein agreed to at the end of the [1991] Gulf War", Mr Powell said after his talks with the Israeli Prime Minister-elect, Mr Ariel Sharon.
"We have to make sure he is denied the opportunity to continue moving in this direction", Mr Powell said. "We have to make sure that we do everything we can to contain him, to constrain him, to get inspectors back in under the terms of the UN resolutions . . ."
Mr Powell said the weapons Mr Saddam was trying to develop would be aimed at the people of the region.
The German intelligence report, published in German newspapers on Saturday, said Iraq might be able to menace its neighbours with nuclear weapons in three years and fire a missile as far as Europe by 2005.
Meanwhile, the Gulf War victors, led by former US president, Mr George Bush, put on a show of support at lavish celebrations on Kuwait's independence day yesterday, a decade after its liberation from Iraqi occupation. Iraq has accused Kuwait of provocation and called for Arabs to combat the US "occupation" of the emirate.
Surrounded by tight security, former world leaders including two former British prime ministers, Lady Thatcher and Mr John Major and Argentina's Mr Carlos Menem paraded before the gathering.
Scores of children waving red, white, green and black Kuwaiti flags cheered military bands marching up and down on acres of carpets between a circle of giant tents in the city centre.
Representatives of the 33 coalition allies were joined in the evening by Mr Powell.
He held talks with Kuwaiti leaders on renewed US efforts to contain Iraq, despite international condemnation last week after US and British warplanes bombed Baghdad for the first time in two years.