The US government is close to reaching an agreement with the Iraqi government over its long term military role in the country but will not seek permanent bases in the nation.
Bush administration officials told Al Jazeera that they expect to finalise a deal by the end of July over the so-called Status of Forces agreement, or Sofa.
The agreement would replace the current United Nations mandate authorising US troops to remain in the nation, which expires in December 2008.
However, Muqtada al-Sadr, Iraq's influential Shia cleric, has called for mass protests on Friday unless the Iraqi government abandons the proposed deal.
And last week Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shia cleric, also reportedly expressed his anger, saying he would not permit the Iraqi government to sign a deal with "US occupiers" as long as he lived.
'No need' for bases
David Satterfield, a senior adviser on Iraq at the US state department, told Al Jazeera that the agreement would make explicit that the US was not seeking permanent military bases in the country.
"The Sofa agreement and the strategic frameworks agreement will make explicit that there is no desire for, indeed there is a rejection of permanent bases. We could not be clearer on this point," he said.
"We do not believe that there is a need for such bases."
Satterfield said that the US was conducting the negotiations with representatives of all the main leaders in Iraq.
Samir al-Sumaida'ie, the Iraqi ambassador to the US, said the agreement was not intended to "tie the hands of any future government in Iraq or any future administration in the US".
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"Our obligation to our people is to protect their interests, the obligation of the US government is to protect the Americans"
Samir al-Sumaida'ie, Iraqi ambassador to the US |
"It's a matter of the current need of Iraq," he said.
"Our obligation to our people is to protect their interests, the obligation of the US government is to protect the Americans.
"Where these interests coincide, then we can reach agreement."
Any prospective agreement can also be terminated two years after either party decides to do so, al-Sumaida'ie said.
However, in the US, the House of Representatives has adopted a bipartisan amendment requiring congressional approval for any proposed military accord with Iraq.
The move could prevent George Bush, the US president, from approving the deal only months before leaving office.