Son of Tariq Aziz Negotiated Surrender

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 25 -- A son of former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, negotiated his father's surrender over a satellite phone with the help of a friend in the United States, ABCNEWS has learned.

A trusted aide to Saddam Hussein and one of the former Iraqi government's most trusted figure, Aziz is in U.S. custody after surrendering to U.S. forces in Baghdad on Thursday.

It was not known if he was talking to his interrogators, although ABCNEWS has learned that the former Iraqi minister's demeanor was calm during the surrender.

Aziz was the eight of spades in the deck of playing cards picturing 55 former Iraqi leaders sought by the United States, and No. 43 on the most-wanted list.

Aziz was not rated that high on the U.S. list, said ABCNEWS' John McWethy, because he probably will not know answers to questions like where weapons of mass destruction may be hidden and where Saddam Hussein might be.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told President Bush about the surrender while the president was traveling aboard Air Force One on Thursday, a senior administration official told ABCNEWS.

The official said the president was pleased, not only because the White House considers Aziz an important figure in the former regime, but because it shows U.S. forces in Iraq are rounding up its members at a regular pace.

The president did not comment publicly on the surrender, but gave a thumbs-up signal to reporters as he returned to the White House from a trip to Ohio on Thursday.

Icon of the Old Regime

With his Groucho Marx appearance and his clear, fluent English, Aziz was probably the most familiar face of the former regime other than Saddam himself, ­ and one of the longest-lasting as well.

Aziz became familiar to Western television viewers as Iraq's foreign minister and Baghdad's de-facto spokesman during the first Gulf War. He was most recently deputy prime minister, but perhaps his most remarkable feat was surviving as an adviser to Saddam for more than 20 years.