British and US political leaders made clear yesterday that existing United Nations resolutions gave legal authority for military intervention in Iraq if required. President Clinton and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, are expected to speak by telephone today or tomorrow to discuss strategies.
In another key development, Israel, which held back from retaliating against Iraq for Scud missile attacks during the Gulf War, warned it would respond militarily to any new Iraqi aggression. A report by the British military and strategic publishers, Jane's Information, said Israel was preparing to use a neutron bomb if it were attacked by Iraqi missiles. If a missile carrying chemical or biological cargo penetrated Israeli defences, Jane's sources said Israel would use a neutron bomb - which suppresses the nuclear blast but increases radiation levels to cause far greater loss of life - to strike back.
The test in the 17-day standoff could come tomorrow, when the UN plans to fly more reconnaissance missions with a US U-2 spy plane over Iraq. President Saddam Hussein has issued a clear warning that Iraq would shoot down any spy plane it spotted over its territory.
As the Royal Navy carrier HMS Invincible steamed eastwards across the Atlantic for Gibraltar, the Armed Forces Minister, Mr John Reid, announced six RAF Harrier jump-jets would be on 48 hours standby from Monday.
Mr Blair warned President Saddam that he would make a "very, very severe mistake" if he did not step back in line. "I think it is absolutely essential that we realise that the reason we are taking this action is because he must not be able to develop weapons of mass destruction," the Prime Minister said. "If he does, the consequences for that region and for the whole of the world would be disastrous."
The US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright, in Britain for talks, said it was a case of Saddam against the world. The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, said after talks with Ms Albright: "We are resolved that we will see this through. We are quite clear that Saddam Hussein has to comply with these UN resolutions and we are resolved that this is a dispute which we have to win and which we are going to win."
In Baghdad, the Iraqi Foreign Minister, Mr Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, said Iraq would not be surprised if the crisis escalated into a military confrontation and accused the US and Britain of seeking such a clash.
Asked how close Iraq was to armed confrontation, he said: "The question is how near the Americans and their stooges, the British, are from launching an aggression against Iraq. Any moment, this would not surprise us."
Sanctions imposed on Iraq after the 1991 Gulf war cannot be lifted until President Saddam has destroyed all his nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missiles.
Russia's opposition-dominated parliament yesterday passed a resolution backing Iraq. It urged President Yeltsin to start humanitarian flights to evacuate sick children.