UNITED NATIONS, Dec 10: Saying that Iraq was still too dangerous for the United Nations to resume work in the near future, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Wednesday that the world body’s workers would operate from Cyprus.

In a 26-page report to the Security Council, Mr Annan said: “I cannot afford to compromise the security of our international and national staff.”

He urged the United States to make the transition process more inclusive and to “truly” empower Iraqis to make decisions.

“Political steps of this kind would make it clear that the foreign occupation is short-lived,” he added.

Mr Annan, who withdrew foreign employees from Iraq last month, said the essential relief aid would get to Iraq from various places in the region and announced the appointment of a New Zealander, Ross Mountain, as the temporary director of the UN team.

Mr Mountain is now head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva. He will become the deputy special representative for Iraq after Kofi Annan appoints a head of mission to replace Sergio Vieira de Mello, one of 22 people killed in the Aug 19 bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad.

“Under the circumstances, it is difficult to envisage the United Nations operating with a large number of international staff inside Iraq in the near future, unless there is an unexpected and significant improvement in the overall security situation,” Mr Annan said in the report.

The UN chief was critical of the Security Council for what he called the vague role the United Nations had been given in the past and questioned whether future duties would be worth the safety risks.