The UN's top nuclear weapons inspector said today Iraq was still not providing UN experts with full cooperation, but war was still not inevitable.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mr Mohamed ElBaradei said he hoped to get full Iraqi cooperation soon.
"We are not getting comprehensive and full co-operation from Iraq, but we hope we will get it in the next few weeks," he told a news conference in Tehran.
He said although Iraq was not co-operating fully with U.N. weapons inspectors, who returned to Iraq in November after a four-year break, war was not inevitable.
"We also would like to see active co-operation in freely interviewing Iraqi scientists," he said.
"We still believe that war is not inevitable," he added. The United States and Britain have warned Iraq repeatedly that time is running out to disarm peacefully and that to do so Baghdad must co-operate fully with UN inspectors.
Washington and London are expected to put forward a draft UN resolution next week to put more pressure on Iraq, and the United States has said its military is ready for war.