As the US redeploys hundreds of thousands of troops, ships and planes to the Gulf region, the Iraqi Trade Minister, Mr Muhammad Mehdi Saleh, was busy yesterday negotiating a deal with Jordan for the purchase of 12,000 tonnes of olive oil.
The minister swept into the lobby of the Jordan Intercontinental Hotel surrounded by an entourage of diplomats and bodyguards and was promptly ambushed by the press.
He brushed off questions about the expected US-led war on Iraq.
The object of his visit here may have been to show that, despite everything, his country was trying to go about its business as usual.
Mr Saleh chose to make a brief statement in the visitors' service office, with a handsome wooden screen as a backdrop.
After urging us to "come to Baghdad" he and his party swept into the café, paused, then mysteriously made for the lifts which carried them to their suites. Perhaps they had had enough of the press.
Outside the revolving door of the hotel were dark cars filled with security men in dark suits and ties. While the Iraqi authorities are trying to project an atmosphere of normality, Baghdad's citizens are bracing themselves for the expected onslaught.
Just before the minister turned up, an Iraqi friend said family and friends to whom she spoke on the phone the previous night feared a new US offensive could "destroy everything we rebuilt after the last war".