Global Security Newswire

Iraq on Wednesday indicated it was moving ahead with preparations for destruction of deteriorating chemical weapons left over from the Hussein regime, the Xinhua News Agency reported (see GSN, April 27, 2009).

Details regarding the number of munitions and types of warfare materials declared by Baghdad have not been made public. The weapons are said not to be in usable condition and were stored in bunkers damaged during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the Middle Eastern state.

Iraq is not manufacturing lethal chemical agents as it did under Saddam Hussein's leadership, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, Netherlands.

"All the WMD stockpiles and weapons have been checked by the U.N. inspection team and identified a few sites that still need to be destroyed," the official said.

Iraq committed to the complete destruction of its chemical arsenal upon joining the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2009 (Xinhua News Agency/Siam Daily News Online, Sept. 7).

Meeting with OPCW chief Ahmet Üzümcü, Zebari addressed his nation's preparations for eliminating the remains of Iraq's former chemical weapons arsenal and production facilities, the organization said in a press release. The Iraqi diplomat noted Baghdad's "commitment and determination" to meeting its commitments under the convention, the release states.

“This is a very important visit, because my country has a number of obligations under a U.N. Security Council resolution to get rid of all weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons,” Zebari said in provided remarks. “Iraq joined the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2009 and has cooperated very closely with the OPCW to make sure that Iraq is clean, that it is free of these deadly weapons" (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons release, Sept. 7).