The UN Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution giving Iraq one last chance to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction or face "serious consequences".
The resolution, drafted by the United States and co-sponsored by Britain, gave Baghdad a week to accept the terms and promise to comply.
As expected, Ireland voted in favour of the measure. The United States had earlier agreed with France and Russia on its then draft resolution on Iraq.
The revised text was sent to Dublin for approval by the Government before the Irish vote was cast by Ambassador Mr Richard Ryan. The Irish mission also asked for some revisions in the text during debate yesterday.
Today's vote capped eight weeks of tough negotiations on a text after U.S. President George W. Bush challenged the United Nations on September 12 to compel Iraq to implement U.N. resolutions ordering it to disarm.
The resolution gives U.N. arms inspectors, who have been out of Iraq for four years, "immediate, unimpeded and unconditional" rights to search anywhere, including Saddam Hussein's presidential palaces, for chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, and threatens Iraq with "serious consequences" if it fails to cooperate.
Bush expressed pleasure that the United Nations had taken up his challenge to work with Washington to disarm Iraq and warned Baghdad that if it balked, the United States and allies would "move swiftly, with force, to do the job".