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The Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC, Dr. Hans Blix, and the Director General of the IAEA, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, met with the Iraqi delegation headed by General Amir Al-Saadi, an adviser in the Presidential Office, in the morning and in the afternoon. They also met with Iraqi Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan between the two meetings. IN addition, they met with Deputy Foreign Minister of South Africa Aziz Pahad prior to and right after the third and final meeting in the afternoon. These meetings took place at the request of the Deputy Foreign Minister. Also, two technical meetings were held, one between UNMOVIC and Iraq on chemical, biological and missile files, and the other between the IAEA and Iraq to clarify issues, regarding aluminum tubes, alleged uranium importation and the use of high explosives, as well as other outstanding issues, as agreed on 20 January. Dr. Blix and Dr. ElBaradei addressed the UNMOVIC and IAEA personnel, and then gave a press conference on the outcome of two days of talks in the evening.
UNMOVIC sought two more private interviews with Iraqi individuals: a biological scientist and a missile expert. Both of them showed up for the appointments. However, the biological scientist did not agree to the location and mode of interview, as proposed by UNMOVIC. The missile expert did not agree to the mode of interview, as proposed by UNMOVIC. Therefore, the interviews did not proceed.
An UNMOVIC biological team visited an Agricultural Research Center approximately 20 km west of Baghdad, and then moved to one of the Center’s nearby breeding stations. A second biological team conducted a geo-physical survey of an area of land within the perimeter of a school on the western outskirts of Baghdad. A small area was excavated as part of the survey. A third biological team inspected a dairy products facility in an eastern suburb of Baghdad.
Three UNMOVIC missile teams inspected three separate sites: the Al Battani Center that is involved in space research and development; Al Mutasim that is involved in the practical training of engineers, who belong to the Military Industrialization Corporation (MIC); and Al Mamoun that manufactures solid propellant rocket motors.
An UNMOVIC multidisciplinary team returned to the Al Taji Ammunition Depot north of Baghdad to extract a sample of the liquid contents of a 122 mm rocket chemical warhead previously declared by Iraq. During the course of the inspection, the team discovered an empty 122 mm Al Burak chemical warhead and an empty plastic chemical agent canister. Samples were taken from both items for subsequent analysis.
A Mosul-based multidisciplinary team inspected the Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Unit of the Nineveh Health Authority.
One IAEA team performed a mobile radiation survey in Baghdad. A second IAEA team participated in a technical meeting at the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baghdad. The initial field trial of mobile air samplers continued.
Hiro Ueki
Spokesman for UNMOVIC and the IAEA in Baghdad