Baghdad, Iraq ? Iraq will hand over to the United Nations in the next few days a list of hundreds of Iraqi scientists who have worked on nuclear, chemical, biological and missile programs, a senior Iraqi general said Thursday.

Under the toughened U.N. inspections that resumed Nov. 27, inspectors can speak privately with scientists and workers associated with Iraq’s weapons — and even take them abroad for interviews. U.S. officials hope the privacy will prompt scientists to reveal hidden weapons programs.

Chief U.N. inspector Hans Blix had requested that Baghdad provide a list of scientists by the end of December, and Iraq had said it would comply.

“The list will be ready within two to three days and it will be sent to the U.N. Security Council at most by Sunday,” Lt. Gen. Hossam Mohammed Amin, head of Iraq’s National Monitoring Directorate, said in Baghdad.

While weapons inspectors have spoken with engineers and experts at the sites they have searched, they made their first request to interview a scientist privately on Tuesday.

University of Technology professor Sabah Abdel-Nour, who had worked on a nuclear program that Iraq says is now closed, refused to see the inspectors alone and insisted on the presence of Iraqi officials, Amin said.

He said the inspectors had not asked to interview another scientist.

Amin said the U.N. inspectors had searched 188 sites since they began their mission. On Thursday, they returned to the University of Technology, checking equipment at the chemistry, engineering and computer departments that had been tagged during U.N. inspections years ago.

Amin said that during their visits, the inspectors found nothing to support U.S. and British claims that his country harbors weapons of mass destruction. He said the teams had collected samples of raw material, soil, water and plants.