Washington - The United States yesterday bluntly rejected Iraq's decision to halt the work of a UN weapons inspection team lead by an American Mr Scott Ritter, and said that Baghdad cannot "pick and choose" who is on the teams.
"Iraq's complaints about team balance and nationality are irrelevant," said a US official.
The official reacted within an hour of Iraq's announcement that it would halt work by Mr Ritter, whom Baghdad has previously accused of spying for Washington, and the rest of his team.