U.S. President George W. Bush told a press conference Saturday in Paris that he expects a security pact to be reached with Iraq. "If I were a betting man, we'll reach an agreement with the Iraqis. "

"We're going to work hard to accommodate their desires," Bush said, adding "It's their country."

The negotiations came months before Iraq's planned local elections in fall. Analysts said a misstep by any party would have its popular support dented.

Sabah al-Ubiedi, an Iraqi analyst and a retired assistant professor of the Mustansiriya University, said that Maliki can choose either to resist the American demands and show patriotic trend to help his party and alliances to gain support, or to succumb to the U.S. demand, which would result in negative impact.

"I think Maliki took the first option and hopes his U.S. ally would understand his sensitive stance," Ubiedi added.

Such a deal will not only bond Iraq and the U.S., but is certain to upset Iran, who has been at odds with Washington and under saber-rattling rhetorics from the Bush administration.

During Maliki's latest trip to Iran this week, he was told by Tehran that the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq was a primary problem.

The fall of Saddam Hussein's Sunni regime helped to drew ever closer the cross border relations.

Political, religious and economic exchanges are growing between the two countries.