While the shells found by the Danes came up negative, the search continues.

Tony Blair says there is "absolutely no doubt" weapons of mass destruction existed in Iraq.

He said investigations are still under way and that the search hadn't been downgraded.

On what had been the eve of his widely expected acquittal, the trial of the second person charged by German authorities as an accomplice of the Sept. 11 hijackers was thrown into turmoil Wednesday after prosecutors disclosed the existence of a surprise witness purporting to link Iran to the hijackings.

The mysterious witness, who goes by the name Hamid Reza Zakeri and claims to have been a longtime member of the Iranian intelligence service, is said to have told German investigators that the Sept. 11 plot represented what one termed a 'joint venture' between the terrorist group al-Qaida and the Iranian government.