Iraq dismissed as lies and a "typical American show with special effects" today's presentation by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to the UN Security Council.
After Mr Powell's speech, Iraqi officials scrambled to refute what one said were "hollow allegations" designed to hamper UN weapons inspections and justify a US military invasion.
"This was a typical American show, complete with stunts and special effects...It is really below the level of a country leading the world now to come up with such allegations and ideas," Mr Amir al-Saadi, President Saddam Hussein's top scientific adviser, told a news conference.
"What we heard today was for the general public and mainly the uninformed in order to influence their opinion and to commit aggression on Iraq," Mr Saadi said.
Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Saeed al-Sahaf told the official Iraqi News Agency: "We can confirm that these are hollow allegations that have nothing new to add to previous CIA reports."
He described satellite pictures produced by Mr Powell of suspicious activities outside weapons sites as "nothing different to cartoon films".
Mr Sahaf said Foreign Minister Naji Sabri would send a letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan tomorrow responding to Mr Powell's "lies and allegations".
Mr Saadi reiterated that Iraq's December arms declaration was "100 per cent accurate and true" and Mr Powell's allegations that Iraq was conducting forbidden activities were "deliberate attempts to undermine the work of inspectors".
He denied a charge by Mr Powell that he was member of a high-level committee set up to deceive weapons inspectors. "My orders since the beginning were to tell everything," Mr Saadi said.