The United Nations considered a request from Iraqi leaders and the US administrator yesterday to send a mission to Baghdad that might salvage plans for putting a provisional government in place by July.
But UN Secretary-General Mr Kofi Annan told reporters further discussions were necessary before he could make a decision on sending what he called a "technical" team immediately.
At issue is a demand from Iraq's most revered Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani for direct elections immediately for a provisional government rather than selections through caucuses, as proposed by the US.
Mr Annan called yesterday's meeting to get what he called some "clarity" on a future UN political role in Iraq.
The session included Mr Paul Bremer, the US administrator in Iraq, his British counterpart, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, and a delegation from the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, led by its current president, Mr Adnan Pachachi.
"We have asked the secretary-general to send a team to Iraq to investigate the possibility of having such elections, and in case that is not possible, to explain why so, and also to discuss alternatives to that," Mr Pachachi said at a news conference.
Mr Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, told reporters that Mr Annan "has agreed seriously and with urgency to consider this request." "The CPA hopes the UN will return to play a role in Iraq and we hope that happens soon," Mr Bremer said.
Mr Sistani's aides have requested that the UN help resolve the impasse and suggested a visit, although Mr Annan said earlier there was too little time for direct elections before June 30th, when a provisional government is to take office.
Elections are planned before 2005 for a permanent government.
"We would like a technical committee to be sent to look into and consider the matter of elections in Iraq," said Mr Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a Sistani ally, who held the rotating presidency of the Governing Council in December.
"Then this conclusion will be respected by Mr Sistani," he said.
The Bush administration would like the team to be led by Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, the former Algerian foreign minister, who has just finished a two-year stint in Afghanistan and will become a UN adviser in New York. Diplomats said Mr Bremer spoke to Mr Brahimi early yesterday.
Mr Annan has said repeatedly that Iraq was too dangerous since he ordered out international staff in October, following two attacks on UN offices and humanitarian organisations in Baghdad. An August 19th blast killed 22 people, including the UN mission head, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
On Sunday, a truck bomb exploded in front of the US-led occupation headquarters, killing at least 20 people. The blast, one of the worst since the August 19th attack on its headquarters, is likely to add to UN apprehensions about returning to Baghdad.
"Obviously, the scope for operational UN activities inside Iraq will continue to be constrained by the security situation for some time to come," Mr Annan said.
He told reporters Iraqis and the CPA offered to provide "full security" for UN personnel in Iraq.
In addition, the UN is reluctant to validate a process the world body had no role in formulating. The UN is also looking for a clear mandate from Iraqis and the country's regional neighbours.
Mr Pachachi and others repeatedly said the UN should return its staff to Iraq.
In Iraq, Japanese soldiers entered the country yesterday, the vanguard of a mission marking a historic shift from Tokyo's avoidance of conflict since the second World War. The deployment poses a political risk for Prime Minister Mr Junichiro Koizumi, whose government could be rocked if there are casualties. - (Reuters)