Jordan refuses to allow launchpad for invasion

Jordan vowed yesterday that it will not allow US troops to be stationed on its territory to mount an attack on Iraq.

Responding to press reports that Washington has secret plans to use Jordan as one of its launch-pads, the Jordanian information minister, Mohammad al-Adwan, said: "Jordan rejects the principle of interfering in the internal affairs of its brothers under any justification. We refuse to be a launching pad or arena for any act against our brotherly state Iraq or to use our soil and airspace to attain this objective."

Speculation about a US invasion of Iraq next year has increased since the breakdown of talks between the UN and Iraq in Vienna on Friday and the leaking to the New York Times of Pentagon plans for an attack.

The US has been building up its forces in Qatar and has a strong presence in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Turkey would also be a vital staging post for an attack. A report in the Observer adding Jordan to the list prompted the Jordanian foreign minister, Marwan al-Muasher, to call in the Iraqi ambassador, Sabah Yassin, on Sunday to assure him the kingdom respected Iraq's sovereignty. Iraq's deputy prime minister, Tariq Aziz, said yesterday the US could not remove the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, and his country was ready to defend itself against American aggression.

The US state department says no decision has been made on military action against Iraq. Mr Bush said on Monday night the US will use all the tools at its disposal to remove Saddam.

Iraq yesterday blamed the US for scuppering the Vienna talks. The UN has been trying to get Iraq to accept the return of UN weapons inspectors to check whether Saddam has been rebuilding his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.