Kuala Lumpur: Muslim nations on February 26 discussed using oil as a "weapon" to avert a possible US-led action against Iraq even as they urged Baghdad to comply with the UN resolutions to avoid war.

"There were suggestions that we look at using our oil wells in order to exert some pressure," Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who chaired an informal meeting of 48 Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) nations in Kuala Lumpur, told reporters after the talks.

However, Mahathir said, "Oil is a double-edged weapon. If the price of oil goes up, many of the countries of the South suffer the most."

"We have to also see how to use this weapon, if we simply mark up the price we might have a bad reaction that is why I recommended that we should think about it first" and the OIC members also only agreed to "look into it".

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During the meeting, the members also urged Iraq to comply fully with UN weapons inspectors, Mahathir said.

"We are agreed that Iraq should comply completely with the requests by the inspectors for any examination into possible weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which may be manufactured or which may be kept by Iraq," he said.

Mahathir said Baghdad maintained that it did not have anything that was endangering anyone and had invited members to verify this. But, he said, "members do not doubt Iraq and there is no need for them to go and verify."

"The problem faced by Iraq is that if it has nothing to show then there is an assumption that it is hiding. So either way, Iraq is not going to be able to get off the hook."

PTI