Annan withdrew international staff members from Iraq in October after attacks on relief workers and the bombing of UN headquarters, which killed 22 people, including the mission chief, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
In recent weeks, the US and some Iraqi politicians have been pressing Annan to send his staff back into Iraq, but he has insisted on assurances of protection for them and "clarity" in the description of what they would be asked to do.
In that connection, the UN announced this week that it was sending a four-person military and police team to study security provisions for the possible return of its workers.
As much as UN officials would like to end their marginalization from Iraq, they worry about the timing of going back in now.
"It's a totally novel, unprecedented and uncomfortable position for the UN to be in a country under occupation," said an official who served with Vieira de Mello in Iraq.
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