UNITED NATIONS, June 11: Deputy chief UN weapons inspector Demetrius Perricos will become acting head of the disarmament agency for Iraq when his boss, Hans Blix, retires at the end of the month, the United Nations said Tuesday.

UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said Perricos would take over as acting chairman of the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) on July 1, “pending a Security Council decision on future arrangements.”

Diplomats said the United States — the dominant council member — was in no hurry to replace Blix, a 75-year-old former Swedish foreign minister who was appointed as the first chairman of UNMOVIC soon after it was established in December 1999.

The Bush administration expressed increased frustration with Blix in the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq on March 20, and has opposed the return of UN inspectors to Iraq since then.—AFP