Weapons experts inspected a key presidential site in the Iraqi capital today amid US and British warnings that time is running out for Saddam Hussein to disarm.
UN crews entered the 2.5 square kilometer Republican Palace, the site of the president's main office, but it was not known if Saddam was present.
It also houses bureaux for Special Security Forces, which protect the ruling elite, and the Republican Guard, a well-trained and loyal military force.
It was the second inspection of such a "sensitive site" since the hunt for banned weapons resumed in Iraq on November 27th. Reporters were kept out by guards as experts from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) went inside the compound with their vehicles.
Disarmament teams had been allowed to work without hindrance on December 3rd when they visited the al-Sejud palace compound in Baghdad.
It was seen as a crucial test of sweeping new powers granted to the inspectors under United Nations Resolution 1441.
Saddam Hussein's eight sprawling palaces - three of them in Baghdad - have remained high on the list of suspected hiding places for weapons of mass destruction but Iraq sees them as important symbols of its sovereignty and dignity.
Yesterday marked the start of the eighth week of what UN officials intend to be a lengthy process despite Washington and London warning that time was short.
"I'm sick and tired of games and deception," President George W. Bush said at the White House.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw jumped to back Mr Bush, saying in London he had been "right to put it in that way."
AFP