United States President George W Bush and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee discussed the evolving situation in Iraq on Thursday evening.

The US president called hours after he ordered military strikes on Iraq.

Vajpayee explained the Indian position on the developments.

Earlier in the day, the external affairs ministry had said that the attack lacked justification and seriously impaired the authority of the United Nations.

It asked the international community to pay special attention to the humanitarian situation in Iraq.