File Photo shows thousands of Iraqis calling for the occupying US forces to leave their country at Firdos Square, central Baghdad.

Iraq’s prime minister said Friday that talks with the United States on proposals for a long-term security pact have reached a “dead end’’.
In his strongest comments yet on the debate, Nuri Al-Maliki expressed concern that the US proposals would infringe on Iraq’s sovereignty.
“The first drafts presented left us at a dead end and deadlock,’’ he told reporters in Amman, Jordan. “So, we left these first drafts and the negotiations will continue with new ideas until the sides reach a formula that preserves Iraq’s sovereignty,’’ AP reported.
The security agreement would provide a legal basis for the presence of US forces in Iraq after the UN mandate expires at the end of this year. US negotiators offered new proposals this week after Iraqi lawmakers expressed outrage over the direction of the negotiations, saying that accepting the US position would cement American military, political and economic domination of this country.
“Any agreement that infringes on Iraq’s sovereignty and its components will be dismissed and will not be acceptable,’’ he added, promising any deal would be presented to Iraq’s parliament for final approval. “It is a negotiation process that will continue until we reach a common ground that is acceptable by the Iraqi and the other sides,’’ Maliki said.
“So, I see no reason to be worried about the possibility that Iraq will be chained by agreements. The Iraqi politicians are aware of the importance of sovereignty.’’
Maliki’s remarks reflected deep misgivings about the deal, which also has been denounced by Tehran. The Iraqi premier, a Shiite, is close to the predominantly Shiite Iran.
An aide to Iraq’s pre-eminent Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani urged negotiators to protect the national interest during a Friday sermon in the holy city of Karbala.
“Iraq’s sovereignty and economy must be protected,’’ Ahmed Al-Safi told worshippers. “The Iraqi negotiators must be up to the responsibility and should have a unified point of view.’’

JordanÕs King Abdullah II (r) welcomes visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki at the Beit Al-Baraka royal palace in Amman on Thursday.

Differences With Washington
Maliki also on Thursday confirmed there were “differences between Baghdad and Washington over the long-term security agreement for stationing of US troops in Iraq“, DPA reported.
“We have not yet reached an agreement on a security pact,“ Maliki said during a visit to Jordan. “It is merely blueprints still under negotiation, and we have differences over those drafts.“
Maliki and his Jordanian counterpart Nader Dahabi also agreed to boost their countries’ ties in both the political and economic spheres, according to an official statement.
“Jordan is keen on extending all political support to the Iraqi government to enable Iraq to play its role as an effective member of the Arab League and on the international level,“ Dahabi said.
The Jordanian government has said that it has plans to name a new envoy in Baghdad but the Minister of State for Information Affairs and Communication Nasser Judeh pointed out that sending a diplomat to Baghdad would hinge on securing protection for the Jordanian diplomatic mission there.
The Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad was the scene of a fatal bombing in August 2003 that was blamed on the Jordanian fugitive Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi, who was killed in a US airstrike inside Iraq in June 2006.

Not Satisfactory
Meanwhile, two Iraqi lawmakers said on Thursday that the new US proposals have failed to overcome Iraqi opposition to the security pact.
US negotiators offered new proposals this week after Iraqi lawmakers expressed outrage over the direction of the negotiations, claiming that accepting the US position would cement American military, political and economic domination of this country.
Iman Al-Asadi, a Shiite member of the parliamentary committee on legal affairs, said the latest American version “wasn’t satisfactory to say the least.“
She said the American proposals contained “some good points but they were not up to what we had expected.“ Al-Asadi said the committee had recommended to the negotiators that they reject the latest draft, the fourth since the talks began last March.
Kurdish lawmaker Mahmoud Othman confirmed Al-Asadi’s comments, adding that “we will not sign“ the agreement as proposed by Washington.

Chalabi’s Criticism
In other news, head of Iraq’s National Congress, Ahmad Chalabi, harshly criticized the terms of the Iraq-US pact, describing it as harmful to Iraq’s independence and sovereignty.
Chalabi told London-based “Al-Quds Al-Arabi“ that terms of the long-term agreement is against Iraq’s Constitution.
He called for the release of the details of the contract.
Also, Iraqi cleric Moqatda Al-Sadr said on Friday he plans to form a new wing of his powerful movement to battle US forces, allowing other members to focus on social issues.
In a statement issued to his nearly 60,000 strong Mahdi Army, the anti-American cleric said the fight against US troops will now be waged only by the new group, while other members will “take on a social and religious role.“
“The resistance will be carried out exclusively by a special group which I will announce later,“ Sadr said in a statement which was read out at mosques in the holy Shiite town of Kufa.

Fending off the US pressures to avoid investing in Iran, Indian oil firms plan to invest $3 billion to develop gas fields in Iran’s Farsi Block if Tehran gives the go-ahead, a source at one of the Indian companies said.
The block holds an estimated recoverable gas reserve of 12.8 trillion cubic feet.
The Persian Gulf block is the first overseas asset for which Indian firms have been given exclusive exploration rights, with a service contract awarded to them in 2002, but permission to develop the asset has yet to be given, wire sources said.
Indian and Chinese firms are keen on investing in Iran which enjoys the world’s second-largest reserves of oil and gas, paying no attention to the US requests and pressures which calls for quitting investment in Iran due to its nuclear program.
India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corp (IOC) each hold a 40-percent participating interest in the Farsi Block, while smaller outfit Oil India Ltd has the rest.
It is operated by ONGC’s overseas investment arm ONGC Videsh Ltd.
“So far, we (the consortium) have invested $90 million and if we are allowed to develop the (gas) field, we would be investing around $3 billion,“ the senior IOC official, who did not wish to be identified, told reporters.
He added that the firm had submitted a gas commerciality report to Iranian authorities last December.
India, which imports nearly 70 percent of its oil requirements and is Asia’s third-largest oil consumer, has been intensifying its efforts to boost oil production abroad to make up for stagnating domestic output.
After an ONGC team met recently with Iranian officials, the consortium is optimistic it will be awarded development rights for the block, the source said.

European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, along with representatives of the foreign ministries of Russia, China, Germany, UK and France, arrives in Tehran on Saturday to present the package of proposals put forth by the Group 5+1 and a letter by the group’s foreign ministers to Iranian officials.
Solana is bringing the third package proposed by Group 5+1 at a time when he is no longer considered representative of the group during this two-day trip, ISNA reported.
The US is the only member-state of Group 5+1, which insists on the precondition of Iran suspending its nuclear program and tries to divert talks from a conciliatory path. This is while Iran has gone beyond research and industrial uranium enrichment operations, which have also been verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Solana and the Group 5+1 representatives are scheduled to confer with Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. There is yet no information available about the other meetings of the delegation with Iranian officials.
A press conference for the visiting dignitaries has also been scheduled at the German Embassy in Tehran on Sunday. It will be the first time Solana attends a press conference in Tehran.

European Parliament in its June 5th ratification called for returning Iran’s nuclear issue to the International Atomic Energy Agency.