United Nations ? Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix welcomed Iraq’s decision to destroy a major missile system but insisted in a report Friday that Baghdad must provide much more evidence about its chemical, biological and missile programs.

The written report to the Security Council — developed before Iraq accepted “in principle” Blix’s order to eliminate Iraq’s Al Samoud 2 missiles — the chief inspector was highly critical of Iraq’s disarmament efforts, calling them “very limited so far.”

And he chastised the government for failing to take numerous opportunities to resolve a host of outstanding issues.

Blix’s tough comments and his assessment of “very limited” Iraqi cooperation was beneficial to the U.S. position. The Bush administration insists that Saddam has squandered his last opportunity to disarm peacefully.

But Blix said Friday that if Iraq carried out its pledge to begin destroying its Al Samoud 2 missiles today, it was “a very significant piece of real disarmament.” He said this would be reflected when he appears before the council, tentatively set for late next week.

With the crisis over Iraq coming to a head, Iraq’s cooperation is expected to be a key factor as the 15 nations on the deeply divided Security Council decide whether to back war or continued U.N. inspections.

The United States, Britain and Spain have cosponsored a resolution paving the way for military action while France, Russia and Germany are pressing a rival proposal to strengthen and continue inspections.

Both sides have been lobbying undecided council members, who all want some kind of compromise that will unite the council and deliver a strong message to Saddam Hussein.

Iraq’s U.N. Ambassador Mohammed Al-Douri expressed hope that the report would be “well-balanced” so the United States and Britain couldn’t use it to launch an attack.