During his two-day visit to Manama, Straw will hold talks with Bahraini officials on "bilateral relations, the latest developments, particularly the Iraqi issue, and matters of mutual concern," BNA said.

Straw will travel on to Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, less than a week after Baghdad fell to US Marines with barely a fight and Saddam Hussein, Iraq's leader for 25 years, vanished.

He was to return via Athens, venue of a European Union summit on Wednesday that was supposed to ceremoniously welcome 10 new nations to the bloc, but now stands to be dominated by post-war Iraq questions.

Separately, Straw's minister for Middle East affairs, Mike O'Brien, was going Sunday to Iran and Syria, key players in how the Middle East will emerge in the wake of the collapse of Saddam's regime.

A Foreign Office official said only that Straw and O'Brien would be discussing "a range of bilateral issues" during their respective missions, "including Iraq."

SPACE.WIRE