ABU DHABI, December 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.N. arms inspectors are making good progress in Iraq and have so far found no evidence of nuclear or chemical weapons production there, according to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Mohamed El-Baradei.

Meanwhile, several teams of U.N. weapons experts set off Monday, December 16, to search for alleged weapons of mass destruction.

El-Baradei warned, however, that Iraq must continue to cooperate to avert war, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

"Now we are making good progress in having Iraq cooperate," El-Baradei said during a lecture in Abu Dhabi late Sunday, December 15.

"I think Iraq can avert conflict by maintaining this cooperation and providing us with authentic and sufficient information about its military capabilities," he said at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research.

With the implementation of the United Nations new disarmament Resolution 1441, "the use of force no longer appears as the first option but is now regarded as the last resort.

"This a very positive development," the IAEA director-general said.

He stressed that the IAEA had so far found no evidence to support allegations that Iraq is producing nuclear or chemical weapons.

However he warned: "Iraq has two options, either to fully cooperate with the inspectors to avoid war and have sanctions lifted or not to cooperate and face the consequences."

Iraq submitted a 12,000-page weapons program report to the U.N. Security Council a week ago, answering a U.N. requirement after weapons inspections resumed in November 2002.

More than 100 disarmament monitors are working in Iraq to verify Baghdad's report amid U.S. and British claims that the document is far from complete.

Asked abut U.S. threats to attack Iraq, EL-Baradei said: "We were assured by the U.S. that it will continue to support the inspection process.

"If it succeeds, it will lead to the aversion of war... I do hope Iraq will realize the U.N. is serious and that a conflict will be averted."

Meanwhile, several teams of U.N. weapons experts set off Monday, December 16, to search for alleged suspected weapons of mass destruction after receiving fresh supplies of staff and materiel, an AFP correspondent reported.

At least five teams from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) and IAEA left their headquarters in Baghdad's Canal Hotel.

One group headed to a chemical plant in the vast industrial complex of Taji, 18 kilometers (11 miles) north of Baghdad.

The plant belongs to the Zat al-Sawari company, affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and minerals. The nine-member U.N. team was expected to verify that it does not produce chemical agents which could be weaponized.