By Paul Wood BBC Cairo Correspondent

Arab League foreign ministers have begun a meeting in Cairo dominated by American threats to invade Iraq.

The talks are taking place "in the context of extremely critical and dangerous circumstances for the Arab world", according to the Arab League.

The ministers are expected to repeat their declaration made at the Beirut summit in March, categorically rejecting any US assault.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has said not one Arab state wants a strike on Iraq - and indeed, all the members of the Arab League are showing signs of increasing nervousness about the prospect of a second Gulf War.

Arms inspections

So the outcome of Wednesday's meeting is expected to be a fresh call on Washington for restraint.

Arab states would like arms inspections to resume

But on the issue of weapons inspections, many Arab states also feel that Baghdad has no choice but to fully comply with UN resolutions.

They are well aware of the strong feelings in London and Washington that offers to let in the weapons inspectors are hedged with so many conditions as to make them meaningless.

So Saddam Hussein can expect a clear message from Arab nations like Egypt not to precipitate a crisis by trying to finesse the issue of weapons inspections.

The Arab League is already on record as categorically rejecting military action against Baghdad - but many believe that a US-led attack would be difficult or even impossible without political and military support from at least some of Iraq's Gulf neighbours.