The White House and UN officials meet today to discuss Iraq as US President George W. Bush threatened to bypass the global body if it failed to force Baghdad to disarm.
Dr Hans Blix, the chief UN inspector in charge of accounting for Iraq's chemical, biological and ballistic weapons, and Mr Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, are coming to Washington for talks with Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell.
Mr Bush faces increased resistance from key UN Security Council members to military action against Iraq, which Washington accuses of amassing weapons of mass destruction.
But UN arms inspectors signalled yesterday they would delay their initial inspections in Iraq until the Security Council completed work on a resolution proposed by Washington and backed by Britain that could pave the way for a possible US-led war against Saddam Hussein.
"We are ready to go but we have not booked our tickets yet," Dr Blix said.
The White House has denounced the rules under which Iraq agreed on Tuesday to allow a return of UN arms inspectors. Spokesman Mr Ari Fleischer said the inspectors would be "nothing more than tourists" without a tough new UN resolution.
Washington and London insist in their proposed resolution on setting out wide powers for the inspectors. The measure would allow UN members, such as the United States, to decide when to carry out any military action should Baghdad not comply.
Russia, China and France - all veto holders in the UN Security Council - have opposed the proposal, however.