London, Jan 28: British foreign secretary Jack Straw said today that Iraq is in ``material breach'' of a united nations resolution requiring that Baghdad give up alleged weapons of mass destruction.
Straw also said that yesterday's report by weapons inspectors to the U N Security Council, saying that Iraq had not genuinely accepted the resolution, showed war with president Saddam Hussein was more likely than previously thought.
``The chances of this being resolved by peaceful means are less than they were,'' straw told the British Broadcasting Corp. Earlier this month, he had said the chances of a war with Iraq taking place were 40 for, 60 against.
``The time is up for Iraq to comply. As of today, according to the reports we've received, Iraq is in further material breach'' of U N Resolution 1441. The resolution requires that Baghdad make no false statements or omissions in a declaration on its weapons, and that it comply with the implementation of the resolution. Iraq says it has no weapons of mass destruction.

``There aren't ultimatums being talked about at the moment,'' Straw said. ``however, Iraq would be making the most profound mistake if it thought it could go on with its game playing any longer.
Bureau Report