Iraq has said it will meet a UN ultimatum that expires today and begin destroying immediately its al-Samoud 2 missiles, prompting chief UN weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix to call Baghdad's action "a very significant piece of real disarmament."
The Iraqi response, if carried through, provides new evidence for the opponents of a pro-war resolution before the UN Security Council that inspections are working and should be given more time.
However, in a report due to be presented to council members today, a copy of which has been obtained by The Irish Times, Dr Blix describes the result of the last three months' inspections in Iraq as "very limited" in terms of disarmament.
Dr Blix nevertheless suggests more time should be given for inspections, according to the text, stating that Iraqi activity had increased and "even with the requisite co-operation it will inevitably take some time".
French Foreign Minister Mr Dominique de Villepin said the Iraqi decision to destroy over 100 missiles that exceed the UN limit of 150 kilometres (93 miles) "confirms that inspectors are getting results." The White House and the British government dismissed the move as tactical. "This is continued trickery and deception," said White House press secretary Mr Ari Fleischer.
In Madrid, British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair played down the Iraqi concession and said President Saddam Hussein still must account for missing chemical and biological weapons.
"This is not the time for games," Mr Blair said at a press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Mr Jose Maria Aznar.
President Bush yesterday gave the strongest indication yet that the decision to invade Iraq has already been made. If Saddam Hussein "had any intention of disarming, he would have disarmed," Mr Bush told USA Today. "We will disarm him."
He told the newspaper he did not want future Americans to ask, "Where was President Bush? How come he didn't act on behalf of the security of the American people?" Americans "fully understand" that there might be a war soon and he had "thought long and hard about the consequences and the price that could be paid."
While the Iraqis have agreed to start destroying missiles, an official in Baghdad said the UN request was "unjust and politically motivated".
Russia's Foreign Minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, said in Beijing yesterday that for the sake of "international stability," Russia was prepared to veto the new resolution, which declares that Iraq has missed a final opportunity to disarm.
Russia and China yesterday issued a joint declaration saying a military conflict with Iraq "can and should be avoided." Pressure from both sides is intense on the six uncommitted nations on the Security Council, Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Guinea, Mexico and Pakistan.
In other developments, the foreign ministers of several Arab countries set up a committee in an effort to resolve the issue before an Arab League summit this weekend. Thousands of people marched in Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen, burning US flags and effigies of President Bush.
At Shannon airport, Army personnel erected a six-foot high razor wire fence yesterday evening inside the existing perimeter fence as part of a massive security operation to prevent protesters breaching security today.
Gardaí drafted in reinforcements in response to a declaration by the Grassroots Network Against War that they would try to pull down part of the perimeter fence. Political parties yesterday distanced themselves from the protest.
The Garda spokesman said: "We are hoping that the march will pass off peacefully and we will be co-operating with the protest organisers in every possible way to ensure that there will be no trouble."