LONDON (Islamweb & News Agencies) - Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz was quoted on Saturday as saying he expected the United States and Britain to launch attacks on Iraq. (Read photo caption below)
In an interview with Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper conducted in Baghdad, Aziz said that Washington and London wanted to use the ``war against terrorism'' as an excuse to oust President Saddam Hussein.
``We know they are preparing for such an attack,'' Aziz said.
``We are watching what is being said and what is being done in the United States and Britain and we know that it is just a matter of time before such an attack.''
U.S. and British officials have said operations may not be restricted to Afghanistan in future but have avoided saying that Iraq or any other specific countries could become targets.
U.S. and British aircraft occasionally strike targets in Iraq while policing ``no-fly zones'' in the north and south of the country that were set up after the 1991 Gulf War allegedly to protect ethnic minorities from Baghdad's air force.
The no-fly zones, as well as economic sanctions strongly defended by the United States and Britain, have drawn criticism not only from the Arab world but also from Russia and some of the other allies now engaged in the U.S.-led coalition.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz speaks to reporters in Baghdad, October 3, 2001. Aziz said Wednesday Iraq was not intimidated by what he described as excessive U.S. troop deployment in the hunt for Osama bin Laden. "The American military preparation is a war against humanity, not against a single country or a single individual. (It) aims at terrorizing the whole world," Aziz told reporters. REUETERS/str
- Oct 03 6:45 AM ET