United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan may decide as early as today on sending a mission to help a US handover of power in Iraq.
"I would expect to make a decision in the next day or so," Mr Annan told Swedish TV yesterday. His comment came as Washington said it saw a significant role for the UN in the handover of power to Iraqis in June, particularly in assessing the feasibility of elections.
Mr Annan has sent two security experts to Baghdad to decide whether it was safe for UN international staff to return to Iraq. Guerrilla bomb attacks at the weekend killed six US soldiers and four Iraqis.
Washington, which previously ruled out any major UN political involvement in Iraq, has said the United Nations could help supervise the handover and discuss demands by the majority Shi'ite Muslims and other Iraqis for early elections.
Top Shi'ite cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani wants a full election, which would probably favour Shi'ites who make up an estimated 60 per cent of the 25 million population from a volatile mix of ethnic and religious groups.
The Shi'ites have been flexing their muscles after three decades of repression under Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Muslim.
A US plan envisages regional caucuses selecting an assembly to choose a transitional government for sovereignty in June. Washington believes elections would be difficult to organise due to a lack of electoral registers and laws.