The head of the UN nuclear agency will tell the Security Council on Monday that Saddam Hussein has done a "quite satisfactory" job of cooperating with inspectors in some areas but that they need more time to complete their search.
The White House dismissed the favorable assessment, but a senior US official said the Bush administration was considering agreeing to let the inspections go on longer as a means of reassuring anxious European allies following a rift that broke out this week with France and Germany.
There were also moves in Europe to calm the tensions with Washington.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said although there was "growing support" in Europe for Germany's position, his country's toughened stance against war "won't destroy the German-American relationship."
"We need to cool off on statements and rationalize," said the European Union's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
In his remarks to the Security Council on Monday, UN nuclear chief Mohamed ElBaradei will say his inspectors have gotten generally good cooperation from the Iraqis in their hunt for weapons of mass destruction, spokesman Mark Gwozdecky told The Associated Press.
"Their report card will be a `B' quite satisfactory," he said.
However, White House spokesman Sean McCormack said: "It's pass-fail. Iraq either is in compliance or not. And so far Iraq has failed to pass the test."