(Reuters) U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte
The U.S. 'has threatened' to topple the government of Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki if he refuses to sign a controversial security deal.
US Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte has warned al-Maliki that he had to sign the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States or he will be ousted, the Iraqi web site al-Morsad reported, citing Western diplomatic sources.
According to the report , Negroponte told the Iraqi Prime Minister that Washington would not allow Baghdad to delay the agreement and nobody inside the Iraqi government or outside it would be permitted to endanger Washington's interests.
The US official added that US troops were not being killed in Iraq to let some people hinder the finalization of the deal.
The US has been seeking to sign the deal which would provide it with permanent military bases inside the country and grant immunity from legal prosecution to the US forces inside their bases.
Iraqi religious and political leaders, however, see the agreement as a humiliating deal which would turn Iraq into a de facto US colony.
The Premier had earlier declared that any agreement with the United States should consider the country's sovereignty and national interests.
