United Nations weapons inspectors enter Iraq after the country formally accepted the Security Council's resolution ordering it to disarm or face "serious consequences".
25 February 2003
Saddam insists his missiles are legal  Saddam is defiant |
Saddam Hussein insists Iraq does not have missiles that go beyond the permitted range, set after the 1991 Gulf War. He was speaking in his first TV interview with a US journalist in almost a decade.
9 February 2003
'Good progress' at Iraqi talks Dr Hans Blix |
UN chief weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix says Iraq does appear to be co-operating more, following two days of talks. He added that inspectors would need more time and even greater Iraqi co-operation to complete their mission.
6 February 2003
Blair confident of war support Tony Blair on Newsnight |
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair says war without a second UN Security Council resolution could be possible and says he believes he can win public support in an extended interview in which he faced members of the public.
4 February 2003
UK and France admit Iraq differences Tony Blair and Jaques Chirac |
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac agree on the need to disarm Iraq at an Anglo-French summit in the town of Le Toucquet, France. But both leaders admit that differences remain between them on the ongoing crisis.
30 January 2003
Blair rallies Europeans Tony Blair |
Tony Blair travels to Madrid in his effort to increase international support for America's tough stance on Iraq. Mr Blair and the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, are among eight European leaders who have signed an open letter declaring their backing for US policy on Iraq.
29 January 2003
Iraq rejects al-Qaeda claims Inspections continue in Iraq |
Iraq has dismissed US allegations that it has links to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. The claim was made by President Bush in his State of the Union address on Tuesday and echoed by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
28 January 2003
UK in new warning about war Jack Straw |
Tony Blair begins an intense round of talks about Iraq with world leaders ahead of his meeting with the US president later in the week. He spoke by telephone with the prime ministers of Australia, Greece and Turkey as UK foreign secretary Jack Straw said time was running out for Iraq.
27 January 2003
Arms inspectors deliver report to UN Hans Blix |
The UN's chief arms inspector Hans Blix tells the United Nations Security Council that Iraq may still possess biological arms and rockets and has only complied with inspections reluctantly.
22 January 2003
EU allies unite against war on Iraq German Chancellor Schroeder and French President Chirac |
President Chirac says France supports Germany's view that conflict should be avoided. The United States steps up pressure on Iraq, with President Bush vowing to unite with "friends of freedom" to disarm Saddam Hussein.
17 January 2003
US says Iraq not disarming Hans Blix |
The White House describes the discovery of the empty chemical warheads in Iraq as "troubling and serious". Its comment came as Saddam Hussein made a defiant speech in Baghdad and the Chief UN Weapons Inspector, Hans Blix, briefed Tony Blair on the crisis.
16 January 2003
Chemical warheads seized in Iraq One of the warheads |
UN weapons inspectors find 11 empty chemical warheads while searching an ammunition storage depot. Iraq's spokesman General Hossam Amin dismissed them as "old rockets" which had long been forgotten.
12 January 2003
Blair under pressure  Claire Short |
Pressure is growing on the Prime Minister to rein in President Bush's readiness to go to war against Iraq. Cabinet Minister Clare Short says Britain should not support the US if it launches action without UN support. Her comment came as America sent more troops to the Gulf.
11 January 2003
Ark Royal sets sail for Gulf  HMS Ark Royal |
The aircraft carrier Ark Royal sails to the Gulf in the biggest British naval deployment for two decades. Officially the flagship is heading for Malaysia for joint exercises but the government says Ark Royal could be used in any action against Iraq.
5 January 2003
Saddam accuses UN inspectors of spying  Saddam denounces US claims as the "hiss of snakes and bark of dogs" |
Saddam Hussein says United Nations weapons inspectors are carrying out "pure intelligence work". He denounced the work of the teams sent to monitor Iraq's compliance with demands to disarm, saying they were exceeding their mandate.
3 January 2003
Bush pledges to liberate Iraq  President Bush says Saddam can still choose peace |
The American president rallies US troops, telling them that if Iraq refuses to disarm they will not be conquerors but liberators. He urges Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to "end his defiance" of UN resolutions and avoid US-led military action.
26 December 2002
Nato chief defends Bush  Lord Robertson says Nato members are morally obliged to assist US military action |
Nato's secretary general defends the Bush administration's policy on Iraq saying there is no question of the Americans taking unilateral military action. Lord Robertson tells the BBC's Today programme that President Bush had so far kept rigidly to the UN route for disarming Iraq.
22 December 2002
Iraq denounces Western "lies" General Amir al-Saadi: "The lies and baseless allegations have been uncovered" |
Iraq says it is willing to answer any questions raised by the US and British governments on its weapons declaration to the United Nations calling allegations from the two countries "lies". The Iraqi presidential adviser, Dr Amir al-Saadi, said Iraq was willing to allay US doubts by letting CIA officials assist UN weapons inspectors.
19 December 2002
Iraq accused of UN violation  Powell: Omissions are "not the result of accidents" |
The US Secretary of State Colin Powell says Iraq's weapons declaration contains flagrant omissions which constitute a "material breach" of the UN resolution. Mr Powell said "serious consequences" had come closer as a result.
18 December 2002
US and Britain lambast Iraq dossier The dossier doesn't show the true picture say critics |
The US and Britain pile the pressure on Saddam Hussein, accusing the Iraqi leader of "obvious falsehoods" and omissions in his weapons dossier. A White House spokesman said President Bush was "concerned" about gaps in the Iraqi report.
17 December 2002
UK gears up for Iraq war British soldier |
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it is preparing for a war in Iraq. Reservists have been told to get ready for deployment and tanks are being adapted for desert conditions. But the MoD has stressed that it is contingency planning and no troop deployments have begun.
09 December 2002
Iraq dossier under scrutiny Hans Blix entering the UN headquarters in New York |
Experts at the United Nations start combing through Iraq's 12,000-page arms declaration, as the big powers are given surprise early access. Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector, was on hand to receive the document in New York.
08 December 2002
Dossier flown to US  UN plane |
Iraq's long awaited weapons declaration is flown from Baghdad to the United Nations in New York and the International Atomic Energy Agency's headquarters in Vienna for analysis by experts.
07 December 2002
Iraq hands over weapons dossier  The document was displayed on hard copy and CD-Rom |
Iraq hands a massive dossier which it says shows it has no prohibited weapons to United Nations inspectors. At the same time President Saddam Hussein issues an apology for the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, read out on air by an official.
05 December 2002
Saddam: Give inspectors a chance Saddam: Give inspectors a chance |
Saddam Hussein says he has let the United Nations weapons inspectors back into Iraq, to give them a chance to disprove American claims that he has weapons of mass destruction. He was speaking publicly for the first time since the inspections resumed.
03 December 2002
UN searches presidential palace United Nations weapons inspectors arrive without warning at Saddam Hussein's Sijood palace in Baghdad, a site high on the list of suspected hiding places for banned weaponry. It is the first visit to a presidential palace since the relaunch of the UN mission in Iraq.
02 December 2002
UK unveils Iraq 'torture' dossier The report says that Saddam is "ruthless" |
A dossier of human rights abuses allegedly perpetrated by the Iraqi regime, including torture and rape, is released by the UK government. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw says the report is needed so "people understand the comprehensive evil that is Saddam Hussein".
01 December 2002
UN inspectors make surprise inspection Iraqi authorities seem to be co-operating well with the UN |
UN weapons inspectors carry out a surprise inspection at a helicopter base. Iraqi officials say the site is currently used to house crop spraying aircraft. Inspectors suspect the machines may have been converted to use biological or chemical weapons.
27 November 2002
Inspectors 'given full access' Weapons inspectors finally get back to work |
United Nations weapons inspectors say the Iraqis gave them full access to two sites during their first field visit for four years. Both sites are reported to have been inspected in the 1990s, before UN inspectors left the country.
26 November 2002
UN inspectors demand evidence Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix has briefed the UN Security Council in New York |
The chief UN arms inspector tells Iraq it must provide "convincing" proof that it has no weapons of mass destruction. Hans Blix tells the UN Security Council that declarations submitted by Iraq "left an open question whether some weapons remained".
25 November 2002
UN inspectors arrive in Iraq UN weapons inspectors arrive at Saddam Airport in Baghdad |
A team of UN arms monitors returns to Baghdad to resume the hunt for banned weapons. Their work is supported by a sweeping mandate to search sites that were off limits during seven years of inspections in the 1990s.
20 November 2002
US seeks coalition for Iraq War George W Bush has approached 20 countries for support |
The US asks for military support from dozens of countries as it prepares for conflict in Iraq. US President George W Bush urges his Nato colleagues in Europe to join a "coalition of the willing" to go to war in Iraq if it refuses to co-operate with weapons inspectors.
18 November 2002
Arms inspectors return to Iraq Hans Blix (r) said weapons inspections would resume on 27 November |
United Nations weapons inspectors return to Baghdad for the first time in four years to begin implementing a tough new UN mandate in their search for weapons of mass destruction. The 25-strong team of inspectors is led by Hans Blix.
13 November 2002
Iraq accepts UN resolution Mr Al-Douri said the resolution had "bad contents" |
The Iraqi ambassador to the UN Mohamed Al-Douri says Baghdad agrees to the terms of the new UN Security Council resolution calling on the country to disarm - a move that apparently clears the way for the return of weapons inspectors.
8 November 2002
UN adopts Iraq resolution The Iraqi parliament has until Friday to decide. |
The Security Council unanimously approves a US and UK-backed resolution requiring Iraq to give up its weapons of mass destruction. It follows eight weeks of negotiations.
12 September 2002
Bush issues ultimatum to Iraq President Bush addresses the UN |
The United States wants to work through the United Nations Security Council, President Bush tells world leaders at the UN General Assembly, but he warns that military action will be unavoidable if Iraq fails to comply with UN resolutions.
E-mail this story to a friend
