The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Saturday that the United Nations would need a few months to reach a conclusion about Iraq's declaration on its weapons program. "By January, we should have a status report which should move us forward," Mohamed ElBaradei told Reuters. "We still need a few months before we come to a conclusion on the Iraqi declaration," he said.

U.S. officials and U.N. diplomats have said an early review of the 12,000-page weapons declaration which Iraq submitted a week ago appears to fall short of the full disclosure required by a tough U.N. Security Council resolution, which demanded Iraq disarm or face severe consequences.

The United States, which seeks to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein , could try to use any perceived violation of the November 8 resolution -- such as an incomplete weapons declaration -- as a justification for war.

ElBaradei and U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix are expected to give preliminary findings to the Security Council in New York on Thursday.

PHOTO CAPTION

Two U.N. inspectors speak shortly before they began searching inside a missile plant and disease control center in Taji, Iraq, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Baghdad, on Friday, Dec. 13. 2002 (AP Photo/Jassim Mohammed)