BAGHDAD, March 19: Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz said on Wednesday it was “impossible” for President Saddam Hussein to bow to US President George W. Bush’s ultimatum to go into exile.

“Bush said he was asking the great leader Saddam Hussein to leave his country — this, obviously, is impossible,” Mr Aziz told a news conference during which he also denied rumours he had defected and vowed victory against US-led forces poised to invade Iraq.

Mr Bush “is also asking the Iraqi people and the Iraqi armed forces to allow the entry of US forces. In other words, he wants to occupy Iraq for free, without a single shot being fired.

“This is an illusion, of course,” Mr Aziz said in a reference to Mr Bush’s ultimatum to Mr Saddam, expiring at 0100 GMT on Thursday, to leave or face an invasion by more than 250,000 US and British troops massed at Iraq’s doorstep. Mr Aziz described these troops as “mercenaries” who would be repelled by a people defending their land.

“We are confident of victory, first because ... we believe in God’s will, and secondly because we are defending (our) right, “ Mr Aziz said.

BAHRAIN’S OFFER: Bahrain’s King Hamad has offered asylum to Saddam Hussein, the official BNA news agency was quoted by AFP in Manama on Wednesday, hours before the expiry of a US ultimatum to the Iraqi president to leave Iraq or face war.