Iraq expects chief UN arms inspectors Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei to deliver to the UN Security Council positive reports on Iraq's cooperation with the inspectors on Friday, a senior Iraqi official said on Thursday.
"We expect the report to be positive, more positive than their reports on Jan. 27, which is what we have been promised," Mohammad Amin, head of the Iraqi National Monitoring Directorate, told a TV channel of the United Arab Emirates.
He also said that Iraq's Al Samoud missile, allegedly exceeding the limit of 150 km set by the Security Council, is not under production.
"The range exceeding the limit was reached only during testing,” he said, adding a number of experiments exceeded the 150-km range and the maximum was 183 km due to technical faults.
It was reported on Wednesday that international missile experts told Blix that the range of the Iraqi missile exceeds the limit.
Amin said the Iraqi National Assembly (parliament) will convene an emergency session on Friday to discuss a draft law to prohibit individuals and companies from owning banned weapons.
The meeting is expected to be held at 1300 GMT, while the Security Council will meet at 1515 GMT to hear the reports by Blix and ElBaradei, who termed the legislation as a key in Iraq's disarmament.
On Monday, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said Blix and ElBaradei face an "important test" as they are preparing updated reports on Iraq's disarmament to the Security Council.
"Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei are now under an important test to say that Iraq is devoid of any weapons of mass destruction," Saddam said, quoted by the official INA news agency.
Blix, chairman of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), and ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), capped their visit to Iraq Monday morning with reported "good progress" in Iraq's cooperation.
Speaking to reporters after two days of talks on Sunday, Blix said he hoped for "a beginning" of better cooperation between Baghdad and UN inspectors.
ElBaradei said he was seeing the beginning of "change" in Baghdad's attitude toward the UN inspections in Iraq.
Blix and ElBaradei are expected to deliver their updated reports to the UN Security Council on Feb. 14, the date analysts term as a crucial moment for peace or war.
The United States has accused Iraq of hiding and secretly developing banned weapons as well as having linkage with the al-Qaeda terror network, and vowed to disarm Iraq by force if necessary. Iraq strongly denies the US allegation.
A US-led war on Iraq looms large as the United States has stepped up its military buildup in the Gulf region.
(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2003)
