British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair has told US President Mr George Bush that Britain will support a US attack on Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to accept the resumption of arms inspections, according to the Guardiannewspaper.
The daily reported a Washington source familiar with the administration had said that Mr Bush was considering his options in the belief that Mr Blair would go along with Washington.
Mr Blair had privately offered "in principle" to lend full British military and diplomatic backing for an assault, the newspaper reported today. This would involve contributing 30,000 troops, an armoured division backed up by sea and air support.
Mr Blair is understood to have told Mr Bush that British support was contingent on the completion of a genuine effort to persuade Iraq to resume UN weapons inspections.
Mr Bush had also obtained agreement in principle for support from France in personal conversations with French President Mr Jacques Chirac.
Mr Blair said on Thursday an attack was not imminent but held out little hope for weapons inspectors returning.
A spokeswoman for the British prime minister's office said Mr Blair had made it clear that no decisions on Iraq had yet been made.
"The prime minister's position has not changed since yesterday," she said.
Mr Blair has staunchly supported Mr Bush since the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, making it difficult to decouple from the United States if it did target Iraq.