Despite mounting international opposition to a war on Iraq, the Bush administration says it is confident it will have international support if it opts for force to disarm Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"I don't think we will have to worry about going it alone", American Secretary of State Colin Powell said, expressing the hope that differences could be overcome.

We know from multiple sources that Saddam has ordered any scientist who cooperates during interviews will be killed Paul Wolfowitz US Deputy Defence Secretary

France and Germany have expressed strong resistance to military action, and China and Russia on Thursday both voiced deep reservations.

Amid the unease over Iraq, the US Government is stepping up its case for tougher action against Saddam.

In a key speech in New York, US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz recited a long list of instances in which, he said, Iraq was still lying about and concealing its weapons programmes.

"Today we know from multiple sources that Saddam has ordered any scientist who cooperates during interviews will be killed, as well as their families," Mr Wolfowitz said.

Earlier in Baghdad, Iraqi officials had said they were encouraging scientists to speak to the UN, but six had so far resisted efforts to question them alone.

"We did our best to push the scientists but they refused such interviews without the presence of representatives of Iraq's National Monitoring Directorate," Iraq's chief liaison officer Hossam Mohammed Amin told a news conference.

Concerns

In a rare intervention on an international issue, China on Thursday aligned itself with France, which insists there is no justification for military action.

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Where key nations stand on Iraq

Beijing was "worried and uneasy" about the large-scale military build-up in the Gulf, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said.

Russia - which like France and China has power of veto as a permanent member of the Security Council - has also challenged the US position, saying there is no evidence that would justify a war in Iraq.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told President Bush in a telephone conversation that "the main criterion" in assessing the situation in Iraq should be the weapons inspectors' findings.

The weapons inspectors are due to present their crucial report to the Security Council on 27 January.

Very worrying health trends can be seen in Iraq, and it's certainly already in a dire situation, but a war will only make that worse Ed Cairns Oxfam

Aid agencies predict human disaster

The growing differences between the US and some of its allies could hinder efforts to reach a consensus on the next course of action over Iraq.

Mr Powell said the US Government would listen carefully to the report and consult with friends and allies, but he again indicated the United States might not wait for Security Council approval to attack Iraq.

"If it can't be solved peacefully and if the UN should fail to act, and I hope that is not the case, then the United States reserves the right to do what it thinks is appropriate to defend its interests," Mr Powell said.

"I'm quite confident, if it comes to that, we will be joined by many nations," he said at a joint news conference with UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

It was important, Mr Powell said, to remember that the issue was disarming Iraq not the inspections process.

Both he and Mr Straw stressed that the UN resolution setting up the inspections had put the onus on Baghdad to account for weapons materials it was known to have.

In a sign of regional concern over the Iraqi crisis, Iraq's neighbours met on Thursday to consider ways of averting a showdown.

Mixed response

Foreign ministers of the six countries - Turkey, Syria, Iran, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia - urged Iraq to show "more active" cooperation with UN arms inspectors.

Their call, at a meeting in Istanbul, appears timely with the chief UN weapons inspector, Hans Blix, saying that Iraqi cooperation with his team has been mixed.

"There are things that have gone well, like the access, prompt access, like setting up of the infrastructure, where the Iraqis have been helpful," he said.

"But there are other areas where we are not satisfied."

Mr Blix is back at UN headquarters in New York, making the final preparations for his first formal presentation to the Security Council on Monday.