The UN Security Council yesterday deplored Iraq's barring of a US-led UN weapons team, an action the US ambassador, Mr Bill Richardson, said had exasperated the international community's patience.
But the UN's chief weapons inspector, Mr Richard Butler, said he probably would not try again to send out the same team, led by Mr Scott Ritter, a former US Marine Corps captain. Iraq had contended it was dominated by Americans and Britons and was aimed at discrediting Baghdad's disarmament efforts.
The Security Council statement was somewhat watered down from the one the US had drafted. It gave full backing to Mr Butler, who is due to hold talks with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad next Monday on the current stand-off.
The council, at a formal meeting, deplored Iraq's decision to ban the team and its "subsequent failure to fill its obligations" on providing inspectors with "full, unconditional and immediate access to all sites".
"The council determines that this failure is unacceptable and a clear violation of the relevant resolutions, including provisions essential to the accomplishment of the object of the resolutions," the statement said.
The original US draft called for "condemning in the strongest terms" Iraq's action. But members also rejected Russian efforts to have the council call for a larger variety of nationalities in inspection teams.
Iraq yesterday blocked the UN weapons inspections by the team led by Mr Ritter for the second day. Two other teams went out as scheduled.
Iraq accused the US and Britain of prolonging the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq so sanctions would not be lifted. The Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Tareq Aziz, said in Baghdad that Iraq protested against the imbalance of UN arms inspection teams which it said were dominated by Britain and the US.
"The adversary is the judge. . . It is their inclination to keep the situation as it is with no end to the work and no end to the sanctions." he said.
Mr Aziz also denied that Iraq used human guinea pigs in its biological weapons testing.
"That is one of the lies being used as a pretext for intruding into the headquarters and branches of the Iraqi security agencies," he said when asked about reports that Iraq was testing biological agents on prisoners.
Mr Aziz reiterated that Mr Ritter was a spy. "His behaviour is the behaviour of a spy not an expert in the disarmament area." The White House said yesterday the US was "increasingly exhausting" diplomatic efforts to resolve the stand-off.