Javier Solana has revealed that the US is set to concede to its forces being put under international control in Iraq.

The EU's foreign policy chief says the Bush administration has accepted that the move is necessary to avoid a humiliating defeat.

"The more the international community is incorporated under the international organisations [the better]," he told the Independent.

"That is the lesson I think everyone is learning. Our American friends are learning that. We will see in the coming days decisions along these lines."