Al-Thawrah
Syria

"Syria has concluded that voting for the resolution moves the region away from the premeditated intentions of a military strike on Iraq, which would only benefit Israel and the enemies of the Arab nation."

Al-Ra'i
Jordan

"The United Nations must be the reference and the one with the right to decide whether Iraq complies with the resolution or rebels against it, obstructing the committees against performing their missions. This would mean that the opportunity is not over yet and that "the serious consequences" issue is not a pretext to any party whosoever to take the law into their own hands and go to war in the name of the international community."

Al-Dustur
Jordan

"While we see the policy of double standards take hold of the United Nations, we add our voice to the voices of those calling for a 'last opportunity'. We hope the new resolution is implemented in order to spare Iraq and its people, as well as the region and its peoples, the danger of a catastrophic war which, if it breaks out, God forbid, would destroy all."

Al-Nahar (Christian)
Lebanon

"It is feared that the new Security Council resolution will only be a prelude to freeing America's hand in Iraq after securing the unanimity of the Security Council."

Al-Quds
Palestinian

"Following the new resolution, which is a political weapon in the hands of the American Administration, the attack on Iraq has become a fait accompli. The Pentagon only needs one or two reports from this or that inspector, bearing in mind that the appointment of the inspectors is not immune to American intervention."

Al-Jazirah
Saudi Arabia

"The earlier the Iraqi leadership accepts and responds to the new resolution, the more it would have removed the chance of being targeted or drawn to a destructive war which by no means would be beneficial to Iraq, the Arabs or Muslims."

Al-Siyasah
Kuwait

"This resolution should not be seen as strange or subject to consideration of hostility. It is a natural result of the policies of the Iraqi regime... It is normal for such a regime [of Saddam Hussein] to view itself differently from the rest [of the world]. Maybe it is time to decide on its existence given the fact that its existence is no longer in the interest of anyone, including the Iraqi people and the entire international community."

Al-Ra'i al-Am
Kuwait

"The [improved and clarified] resolution essentially aims to provide the required international cover for the US decision of war, which seems to have been taken some time ago even though the decision to begin military operations has not been issued yet. The Security Council resolution deliberately includes impossible demands, which leave Saddam Husayn no option but to accept in order to save his own life and his dictatorial regime."

Al-Sharq al-Awsat ( Saudi-owned)
Based in London

"The international community must make it clear that it only wants the effective removal of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, and that there will be no hidden intent to change the regime. The ball is now in Iraq's court, as a return to brinkmanship would be suicidal in current conditions."

Al-Quds al-Arabi (nationalist)
Based in London

"We were not surprised that the Security Council adopted the US-British draft resolution to remove Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, as France and Russia are after all Western countries and they cannot be more Arab than the Arabs themselves. The greatest catastrophe however was the Syrian stance, which supported the resolution and granted Arab legality to all its ramifications, including an attack on Iraq and the occupation of its territory."

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.