BAGHDAD , Iraq ( CNN ) -- Iraq 's government has authorized Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to submit to Washington amendments to a draft security agreement with the United States , an Iraqi government spokesman said Tuesday . Students protest the status-of-forces agreement Tuesday at Baghdad 's Mustansiriya University . Ali al-Dabbagh said the Iraqi government approved several amendments that were `` necessary , essential and appropriate '' to the draft status-of-forces agreement , which would set the terms for U.S. troops in Iraq after the United Nations mandate on their presence expires at the end of this year . `` The Iraqi government authorizes the prime minister to bring up these amendments to the U.S. side in order to reach a draft agreement that will preserve the fundamental principles and the sovereignty of Iraq and its high interests , '' al-Dabbagh said . It is unclear when al-Maliki will submit the changes to the draft document . U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said that there was `` great reluctance '' to make any more changes to the agreement . However , senior U.S. officials -- speaking under the condition of anonymity -- are not ruling out possibly renegotiating parts of the deal with Iraq if the country 's parliament does not approve it . The most vocal opponent of the draft security deal in Iraq has been the political party of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr , which opposes any U.S. military presence in Iraq . U.S. military helicopters Tuesday flew over Baghdad 's Mustansiriya University , where hundreds of students took part in a demonstration organized by the Sadr movement against the status-of-forces deal . `` We are against this agreement between the Iraqi government and between the American government because it is against Iraqi sovereignty , '' said law student Ahmed Fadhil Abbas , one of the demonstrators . Fellow demonstrator and law student Hisham Mohammed said the students plan to organize a sit-in and a strike across universities in Iraq to protest the agreement . The draft status-of-forces agreement , according to a copy obtained by CNN , calls for U.S. combat troops to be out of Iraqi cities and villages by July 30 , 2009 , and out of the country entirely by December 31 , 2011 . The agreement allows for an earlier withdrawal or an extension of the U.S. forces ' stay in Iraq , by agreement of both parties . It also allows the Iraqi government to ask `` the United States government to leave certain forces for training and for support purposes for the Iraqi forces . '' Legal jurisdiction over U.S. forces in Iraq has been a sticking point in the negotiation , with the U.S. side preferring that its troops and contractors remain immune from Iraqi law . Baghdad had sought the power to arrest and try Americans accused of crimes not related to official military operations , plus jurisdiction over troops and contractors who commit major crimes in the course of their duties . Under the draft agreement , U.S. forces or contractors who commit `` major and premeditated murders '' while off duty and outside U.S. facilities would fall under Iraqi jurisdiction , according to the copy obtained by CNN . All other crimes -- and murders committed inside U.S. facilities or by on-duty forces -- would fall under American jurisdiction , the agreement says .
Official calls changes `` necessary , essential and appropriate '' to the draft agreement . Status-of-forces pact would set terms for U.S. troops in Iraq after U.N. mandate ends . U.S. has shown `` great reluctance '' to change pact but has n't ruled out renegotiations . *