UN agencies have already given about half a million dollars (400,000 euros) to fund relief efforts in the Iranian city of Bam where up to 30,000 people are feared to have died in the tremor that struck on Friday.

And six Gulf states said they would hold an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh later Monday to coordinate sending aid to the earthquake victims.

"So far the response has been swift and generous," said Rashid Khalikov, deputy director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

But "we need much more," he told a briefing at the UN's European headquarters in Geneva, declining to give an approximate sum.

Japan and India said they have sent emergency supplies such as blankets, tents and water tanks to Iran, while neighbouring Afghanistan pledged 150,000 dollars to help relief activities.

"The assessments we have been doing so far is to assess the needs of today but we have to think about tomorrow and the week after tomorrow and two or three months after tomorrow," said Khalikov.

"We will assess the needs together with the government of Iran and then we hope we will be able to design the proper response ... in terms of projects," he explained.

"And then we will be able to go back to the donor community asking for funding," Khalikov said. "We badly need now cash grants."

Representatives from more than 20 OECD countries, including the United States, the European Union and Norway, met in Geneva with UN aid agencies and Red Cross officials to discuss the disaster and how best to respond, Khalikov told reporters.

Attendance at the meeting was surprisingly strong, said an OCHA official, noting that it showed the international community was keen to lend a hand.

But Khalikov said: "The biggest fear is that as soon as the news about the earthquake disappears from TV screens it will be reflected in support from the international community in terms of contributions to the activities to help the victims."

UN agencies have been working around the clock since the quake struck.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has sent more than 45 tons of supplies, including health care kits and blankets for the tens of thousands of children affected by the disaster, the UN said in a statement.

One relief flight alone, valued at 285,000 dollars, carried first aid and health supplies capable of treating 120,000 people, it said.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has sent 140,000-dollars worth of aid, while the World Food Programme has dispatched blankets and other vital equipment, and plans to fly in 40 tons of high energy biscuits into Iran on Tuesday.

In addition, finance and economy ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states were due to hold a meeting in Riyadh later to offer coordinated help to the earthquake victims.

"This catastrophe, which is affecting our brothers in Iran, necessitates the aid and help of all people," Abder Rahman Al-Attiya, secretary general of the GCC, told AFP.

The GCC groups Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Belgian Defense Minister Andre Flahaut is to fly to Bam late Monday aboard a cargo plane carrying Belgian aid to the city, his office announced. Flahaut will return Tuesday after meeting with Belgian aid workers at the scene.

Latest official estimates have put the number of people killed in the earthquake at about 30,000. State radio reported Monday that the bodies of 25,000 have already been buried.

More than 2,000 people have been pulled alive from the rubble while more than 12,000 injured have been evacuated for medical treatment in other provinces.

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