BAGHDAD, 24 April 2004 — British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon, the first Cabinet member from Britain or the United States to visit Iraq since US-led forces took over Baghdad on April 9, said Saddam was probably still in the country.

“In the end we don’t know, but it is still our best judgment that he is (in Iraq),” Hoon told reporters during a visit to southern Iraq.

The United States, apparently alarmed at the possibility of Iraq’s majority Shiites taking their lead from neighboring Iran, said it had warned Tehran against “interfering” in Iraq.

“We’ve made clear to Iran that we would oppose any outside interference in Iraq’s road to democracy,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer. “Infiltration of agents to destabilize the Shiite population would clearly fall into that category.”

But in a fresh sign of tensions on the Iran-Iraq border, an Iranian opposition militia based in Iraq said it had captured four Iranian soldiers after a clash at the frontier.

The People’s Mujahedeen, a militia that has been striving to overthrow Iran’s Islamic government for two decades, said Iranian soldiers had attacked near Mandali, about 130 km northeast of Baghdad.

There was no immediate comment from Iranian or US officials. The US said on Tuesday it had agreed a cease-fire with People’s Mujahedeen forces inside Iraq.

Kurdish and US officials announced plans for a commission to resolve disputes between Arabs and thousands of Kurds who were displaced from their homes under Saddam.

“We have this small moment in time where we can make all of Iraq democratic,” said retired US Gen. Jay Garner, in charge of reconstruction in Iraq, at a news conference. Garner has been feted in the north by crowds showering him with flower petals.

A senior US official said Iraq’s giant southern oil fields had started pumping well ahead of schedule and could by mid-May crank out 800,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Col. Michael Morrow said Iraq’s first barrels from four wells in the South Rumaila oil field are earmarked for power generation and domestic consumption.

The United States delayed until next Monday a second meeting of Iraqi politicians to discuss forming an interim authority, originally planned for Saturday. A US official said the decision was based solely on forecasts of severe weather in the Baghdad area this weekend, not on political considerations.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell meanwhile decided to call his French counterpart Dominique de Villepin after warning France in an interview that it would face consequences for leading opposition to the war.

“He wants to talk to de Villepin about the consequences generally, what’s being considered and what’s not,” one senior official said. “It’s more of a courtesy call so the French aren’t left guessing after the interview.”