The Governments of Iran and Iraq have informed the United Nations of a new border crossing point between the two countries to be used as a trade route for the delivery of humanitarian relief aid, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported yesterday. Independent UN inspection agents would be deployed at the new Khosravi-Mondhariya crossing point in late January or early February. They will be responsible for confirming and authenticating the delivery of goods to Baghdad. The newly designated crossing point, situated northeast of the capital Baghdad is the sixth set up under the "oil-for-food" program. Other points are located on or near Iraq's border with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Jordan and Syria.

Washington obtained an early unedited copy of the Iraqi declaration sent to the United Nations, after a deal was struck to override a UN Security Council decision to keep the report under wraps at UN headquarters in New York. Speaking to the ruling African National Congress (ANC), former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, 84, called this "an act of piracy which must be condemned by everyone." He added: "One must not... evade the real issue, viz. that the United States of America (with the United Kingdom in tow) has tended to... disregard the principles of multilateral world governance." Iraq blasted the move and said the United States would manipulate the dossier to produce a pretext to start a war.

UN experts will make their first evaluation of Iraq's declaration on its weapons programs to the UN Security Council tomorrow, with leading powers already expressing skepticism about the document. Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohamed El-Baradei will address the Security Council, though UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan insisted an in-depth study would come later. The UN verdict on the report could eventually decide whether a military operation against Iraq is ordered. The US has already said that it sees problems in the Iraqi declaration.

Iraq handed over the 12,000-page document to Blix's UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) on December 7th and full copies have been given to the five permanent members of the Security Council - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

An edited 3,000-page version - stripped of sensitive material - was to be handed to all Security Council members yesterday. The permanent members, together with IAEA and UNMOVIC, recommended which parts of the Iraqi report breach international non-proliferation treaties. The names of foreign companies that supplied Iraq were also taken out.

Annan emphasized that no major developments should be expected from tomorrow's meeting, but thought it important because all 15 members of the Security Council would receive the report. Blix last week demanded that Iraq hand over a new list of scientists and other experts involved in the weapons programs by the end of the month. The US wants scientists moved out of Iraq with their families, if necessary, so they can be questioned about accusations that Iraq has nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs. Annan said it was up to the UNMOVIC and IAEA chiefs whether the scientists should be questioned. "If they do ask to see the scientists and want to interview them, I hope they'll be able to do it inside or outside [Iraq]. But of course this is something that the inspectors will have to resolve on the ground."

The US expects to give its formal response to Iraq's declaration later this week but Secretary of State Colin Powell said that it has already detected problems: "We've said since the very beginning that we approach [this declaration] with skepticism, and the information I've received so far is that this skepticism is well founded... There are problems with the declaration."

At least seven groups of UN weapons inspectors were out yesterday searching for suspected weapons of mass destruction, focusing on Iraq's germ warfare capabilities. A team of biological experts from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) returned to the University of Baghdad, where a biotechnical institute was investigated on Monday.

Iraqi opposition groups failed yesterday to overcome ethnic rivalries. Some walked out of a meeting and warned that civil war might break out if they were sidelined in any new Government of Iraq. The conference of Saddam's foes, organized by six parties recognized by the United States and attended by 330 people from dozens of exiled groups, concluded in London with calls for a federal democracy in Iraq. But it failed to bridge differences.