"Above all, the UN involvement does bring legitimacy, which is necessary for the country, for the region and for the peoples around the world," Annan told reporters before a closed meeting with members of the Security Council.

Annan said discussions at the meeting would focus on developments on the ground in Iraq and possible post-conflict scenarios, "regardless of how the war will end."

The secretary general reiterated that he expected the United Nations to play an "important role" in Iraq's reconstruction and cited the UN's long experience in the fields of "political facilitation" as well as humanitarian aid and human rights.

His comments came amid intense wrangling between world leaders over who should lead rebuilding efforts in Iraq on the political, humanitarian and economic levels.

The staunchest US ally, Britain, has been pushing for a significant role for the United Nations when hostilities cease.

However, key members of the President George W. Bush's administration -- angered at the Security Council's failure to support the Iraq war -- have balked at granting the world body a role as a power-broker in the region.

Annan said he would formally announce the appointment of a Special Advisor on Iraq, Rafeeuddin Ahmed -- currently the special representative of the World Tourism Organisation to the United Nations.

"His role will be .... thinking about the future, thinking about what is likely to happen and what the likely UN role will be," he said.

Annan also stressed that the Iraqi scenario had never been expected to play out like East Timor or Kosovo, where the absence of any political infrastructure had seen the United Nations heading an interim civil administration.

"There are trained personnel, there is a reasonably effective civil service," he said. "As we have said before, Iraqis have to be responsible for their political future."

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