Iraq has sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council detailing its side of the dispute over documents relating to its weapons programmes.

The long and technical letter says documents asked for by the weapons inspectors are either irrelevant or non-existent.

The Security Council is due to discuss the issue on Tuesday.

Iraq's ambassador to the UN Nizar Hamdoun said Iraq was still committed to cooperation.

The BBC United Nations correspondent says the dispute is unlikely on its own to lead to military action by the United States and Britain.

But he says both countries say it will form part of their longer term assessment of whether Iraq is cooperating.