The United Nations is expected to receive a revised resolution from the United States today that gives Iraq a "final opportunity" to comply with US wishes or else face military action.
The new text is expected to be a concession to Ireland, Russia, China, French wishes in particular, by offering a follow-up role to the 15-nation Security Council. Washington hopes it will be adopted by the end of the week.
But the draft still makes military action possible if UN arms inspectors report a serious violation in accounting for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
US officials are fairly confident that France, which led resistance to their original proposals, would agree to the new text, although it falls short of Paris' earlier demands that only the council could authorise any use of force.
But a French diplomat said no decision would be made until President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin "can make an assessment of all of the text."
It is unclear if Russia and China, who, like France, feared a unilateral US military strike under the guise of United Nations approval, would agree to the resolution.
The United States and Britain, co-sponsors of the resolution, have called a closed-door meeting of the 15 council members today to present the document.
The draft is the third US version circulated among the council's five permanent and 10 elected rotating members since early last month.
A Security Council resolution needs a minimum of nine votes for adoption and no veto from its five permanent members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China.
The new resolution threatens Iraq with "serious consequences" and says non-compliance would constitute a "further material breach" of the Gulf War cease-fire resolution, a phrase that could be interpreted as a license to use force.
But it also says such serious violations would be "reported to the council for assessment."
UN weapons inspectors, who are to get new sweeping powers, would report major violations by Iraq after which the Security Council would meet immediately to assess the situation.
Iraq has to accept the terms of the measure within seven days of adoption. It then has to declare within 30 days all weapons of mass destruction programs and related materials, including items that could also be used for civilian purposes.
The inspectors, barred from Iraq for nearly four years, are to resume their work within 30 days after adoption of the resolution and report back to the council within 60 days.
The arms inspectors are to get unconditional and unrestricted access to any place they want to survey, including President Saddam Hussein's palace compounds.
Saddam has agreed to let inspectors return, and, in a possible policy shift, said Iraq might comply with a new disarmament resolution if it did not "provide a cover for America's ill intentions."
Russia welcomed Saddam's position yesterday. "It's another sign of Baghdad's readiness to work with the international community," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.