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IAEA sees return with full authority after Iraq war VIENNA, March 31 (Reuters) - The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said on Monday that his weapons inspectors' mandate to hunt for banned arms in Iraq was still valid and he expected to return to Baghdad with full authority after the war. Inspectors from the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UNMOVIC monitoring and verification agency left Iraq two weeks ago after the United States informed the agencies that it would use military force to disarm Iraq. "The IAEA mandate in Iraq is still valid and has not changed, and the IAEA is the sole body with legal authority to verify Iraq's nuclear disarmament," IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei told Reuters in an emailed statement. "Our operation is interrupted because of hostilities. We expect to go back with full authority after the cessation of hostilities, to resume our inspection activities in Iraq," he said, adding that only impartial international inspections would be credible. The United States has said that U.N. inspectors might play a limited post-war role in Iraq. _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk