Bush to ask UN to return to Iraq

WHITE House officials say the United Nations is to be asked to go back into Iraq to help oversee the transfer of power to the Iraqis.

The United States will try to persuade the UN Secretary- General, Kofi Annan, to back the plan to set up an unelected government in Iraq by July.

The spiritual leader of Iraqi Shias, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, is demanding direct elections first. The UN pulled out of Iraq after a huge bomb attack on its offices in August.

Mr Annan has said the UN could help but only if given a role commensurate with the risks involved. The American administrator, Paul Bremer, will meet Mr Annan on Monday.

US officials say the ban on French and Russian companies bidding for contracts in Iraq could be lifted.

After talks with President George Bush on Friday, Mr Bremer said he was ready to make "refinements" to the plan to set up an unelected government in Iraq, but he doubted direct elections could be held before the July deadline.

Mr Bremer said: "We’ve always said we’re willing to consider refinements and that’s something that we will be willing to discuss at the appropriate time."

The meeting in Washington came a day after a mass demonstration in the southern city of Basra in support of the demands of Ayatollah Sistani.

Experts say the support of Shias is vital for any new Iraqi government to have legitimacy. Shias were long repressed by Saddam Hussein and they want more open elections to reflect their numerical superiority.

The strongest challenge yet to the coalition came during Friday prayers in Karbala from Sheikh Abdul Mahdi, the local representative of Ayatollah Sistani.