The United States has scheduled its first meeting on Iraq with the full UN Security Council in an effort to pressure the 15-member body and possibly force a vote despite opposition from Russia and France.
US Ambassador Mr John Negroponte said the US draft resolution would be discussed but not necessarily introduced.
"Whether we will table a resolution or simply discuss its content, we haven't finally decided that," he told reporters about the closed-door meeting.
Mr Negroponte has been negotiating for three consecutive days with the four other permanent Security Council members with veto power, but a deal was not yet in sight.
Only Britain supports a revised US draft that drops explicit authorization of force if Iraq does not comply with UN demands but leaves the door open for war. Russia and France, at times supported by China, have raised objections.
By seeking support in the full council the United States is putting pressure on Russia and France and may be daring them to veto the draft. Alternatively, if opposition mounts, Washington could withdraw the resolution entirely, the diplomats said.
The United States would then make its own decisions about any attack against Iraq, although going it alone would jeopardize international political support, they added.
Russia's UN ambassador, Mr Sergei Lavrov, has opposed more provisions in the US draft than France, frustrating American aims.
"He will ask for 17 changes to get Moscow's vote and then drop to 15 changes for an abstention and no veto," said one participant close to the talks. Russia has questioned whether Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and whether any force should be threatened in the first place.
France also opposes the US draft, fearing a hidden trigger in the language that would provoke a war in the Middle East without further Security Council consultation. But its objections are less vehement than those of Moscow.