The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday urged the United States to allow the return of United Nations inspectors to Iraq to complete their search for weapons of mass destruction.

Presenting his annual report to the UN General Assembly, Mohamed ElBaradei said it "would be prudent for the UN and IAEA inspectors to return to Iraq to bring the weapons file to a closure."

"Through implementation of a Security Council approved plan for long-term monitoring," their return would also ensure that activities related to weapons of mass destruction would not be resumed in Iraq in the future, he added.

UN nuclear, chemical and biological experts left Iraq before the US-led invasion of Iraq in March. Their return has been rejected by the United States since its occupation of the country in April.

The United States, instead, dispatched a large number of experts to conduct its own search of illegal weapons in Iraq. But they have so far failed to find any evidence of illegal weapons in the country.

Under a Security Council resolution adopted at the end of May, the council would review the mandate of the UN inspectors some time in the future.

(Xinhua News Agency November 4, 2003)