U.N. Team to Seal Off Iraqi Missile Site

The United Nations upped the ante in its latest dispute with Iraq, sending a new team of weapons experts to seal off equipment at two Iraqi missile-testing sites until Baghdad allows U.N. inspectors to set up monitoring cameras there.

The “interim” measure, disclosed during a briefing for the Security Council by Rolf Ekeus, the official who oversees U.N. weapons inspection activities in Iraq, is designed to intensify pressure on Baghdad to allow installation of the surveillance cameras.

A previous U.N. team left Baghdad in protest Monday after Iraq refused to allow it to install the cameras, which would be used to monitor the dismantling of the missile-testing equipment.

Both the Security Council and the United States have warned of “serious consequences” if the Baghdad government does not comply soon.

The 15-country Security Council is not expected to take any new action this week in the wake of Ekeus’ latest measure. Officials said that any decision on whether to punish Baghdad--possibly with another military strike--would await Iraq’s response to the move.

U.N. officials declined to predict what might happen if the new U.N. team is not allowed to bar access to the equipment or if Baghdad unduly delays entry of the group, which left New York on Thursday and is expected to arrive in Baghdad on Saturday.

However, Tim Trevan, spokesman for Ekeus’ office, warned that if Iraq does try to block the team, “we would have to report that to the Security Council.” He said the inspection team “cannot judge” what the council would do then.

Diplomatic sources said that Baghdad’s decision to bar installation of the surveillance cameras was “political”--meaning that it was made at the highest levels and not simply by bureaucrats or technicians.

Under the cease-fire accord that followed the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Iraq agreed to meet all U.N. demands for dismantling its missile arsenal. Baghdad has a spotty compliance record, however, often refusing to follow U.N. orders until the two sides are on the brink of confrontation.

Baghdad is known to view installation of cameras as a first step toward long-term enforcement of Iraqi compliance--a restriction that it has consistently opposed as an infringement on its sovereignty.

At the same time, the Security Council maintains that installing the cameras is the most efficient way to monitor whether the Iraqis actually are dismantling and destroying their arsenal or are seeking to evade the U.N. demands.

Ekeus suggested that, besides heightening the pressure on Iraq to comply, the step announced Thursday also might offer Baghdad a kind of “face-saving method” to reverse its earlier refusal to obey U.N. orders.

He called the move “an interim measure,” designed to prevent the Iraqis from using the equipment until the dispute is resolved. “This will make sure no testing is taking place,” he said.

Ekeus provided no details on how the equipment will be sealed. But officials said that inspectors have placed similar locks on other devices in recent months. The equipment cannot be used again unless the seals are broken.

There was no immediate reaction from Iraqi officials Thursday.

Ekeus also announced that Iraq finally had fulfilled a demand that it destroy additional equipment for manufacturing chemical weapons--reversing its earlier claim that the equipment was needed for agricultural purposes.