for Iraqi sovereignty -- `` requests the temporary assistance '' of U.S. forces , but severely restricts their role . The pact says that all military operations are to be carried out with the agreement of Iraq and must be `` fully coordinated '' with Iraqis . A Joint Military Operations Coordination Committee will oversee military operations . Iraq has the `` primary right to exercise jurisdiction '' over U.S. forces `` for grave premeditated felonies , '' the agreement says . Suspects can be held by U.S. forces but must be available to Iraqi authorities for investigation or trial . Iraq also will have the `` primary right to exercise jurisdiction '' over U.S. contractors and their employees under the agreement . Also , the pact says that `` Iraqi land , sea and air should n't be used as a launching or transit point for attacks against other countries . '' The presidency council also approved a U.S.-Iraqi bilateral pact called the strategic framework agreement , which covers a wide range of bilateral cooperation efforts and which was approved by the Iraqi parliament last week . U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker and Gen. Ray Odierno ,
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Iraq 's presidency council Thursday approved the U.S.-Iraq security agreement -- the final step for the agreement to be ratified by the Iraqi government , a council spokesman said . The pact allows the presence of American troops in Iraq for three more years . U.S. soldiers gather at the `` Crossed Swords '' in Baghdad 's secure Green Zone on Tuesday . The three-member presidency council -- Kurdish President Jalal Talabani , Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul Mehdi and Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi -- approved the agreement unanimously a week after the Iraqi parliament passed the measure . Under the Iraqi constitution , unanimous approval by the presidency council is required for ratification of a law or agreement . The security pact will replace a U.N. mandate for the U.S. presence in Iraq that expires at the end of this year . The agreement , reached after months of negotiations , sets June 30 , 2009 , as the deadline for U.S. combat troops to withdraw from all Iraqi cities and towns . The date for all U.S. troops to leave Iraq is December 31 , 2011 . The agreement -- which stresses respect