Malaysia has shut its mission in Iraq and shifted operations to Jordan as the threat of war intensified, Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said today.

Syed Hamid said there were clear signs that Washington was preparing to wage war o­n its own if the United Nations rejected a resolution to pave the way to attack Iraq.

"We are monitoring closely the decisions that are being made o­n Iraq. The important thing is for France, Russia, Germany and China to continue with efforts to prevent war," he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.