Washington: Vowing to keep the pressure on Iraq, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has warned Baghdad not to threaten either inspectors or coalition aircraft upholding a new round of UN arms inspections.

"The only thing that has brought us to this point is the growing threat of pressure on the Iraqi regime, and the only way to finish the job facing the UN today is for Iraq to be disarmed. And to do that it's necessary to keep the pressure up," Rumsfeld said on November 8.

He indicated the United States would regard attacks on coalition aircraft enforcing no-fly zones over Northern and Southern Iraq as defiance of the resolution approved by the United Nations Security Council on November 8.

Agencies