BAGHDAD -- Iraq's government spokesman said Monday the proposed U.S. changes to a draft security agreement were ''not enough'' and asked Washington to offer new amendments if it wants the pact to win parliamentary approval.

The comments by spokesman Ali al Dabbagh were the first by the Iraqis since the U.S. submitted a response last week to an Iraqi request for changes in the draft agreement, which would keep U.S. troops here until 2012 and give Iraq a greater role in the management of the U.S. mission.

Dabbagh said his remarks constituted the government response, but it had not been officially conveyed to the Americans.

State Department spokesman Robert Wood declined to comment on Dabbagh's remark except to say: ''We have not received any official response from the Iraqi government.'' U.S. officials had described the latest draft submitted to the Iraqis as the ``final text.''

Privately, however, some U.S. officials have said they expect protracted haggling over the agreement, with the Iraqis pressing for more concessions until the last minute.

''The American answer is not enough for the government to accept it in its current form,'' Dabbagh told The Associated Press. ``There are still some points in which we have not reached a bilateral understanding.''

Dabbagh said the government was inviting the United States ``to give answers that are suitable to the Iraqis.''

The agreement must be approved by parliament before the Dec. 31 expiration of the U.N. mandate that allows U.S. troops to operate legally. Without an agreement or a new U.N. mandate, U.S. military operations would have to stop as of Jan. 1.

Dabbagh did not spell out in detail which points the Iraqis still find unacceptable, but they probably include Baghdad's demand for expanded legal jurisdiction over U.S. soldiers.

The current draft allows Iraqi courts to prosecute soldiers accused of major, premeditated crimes allegedly committed off post and off duty. The Iraqis had asked for elaboration on those charges and a greater role in determining whether specific cases met the criteria for trial in their courts.

But the agreement faces strong opposition, especially within the majority Shiite community, which is the base of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's political support.

Several influential Shiite clerics have spoken out against the deal, and radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr has vowed to oppose it.

In addition, the Sunni vice president, Tariq al Hashemi, has called for a national referendum -- a move that would effectively kill the deal because it would be impossible to arrange a vote before the mandate expires.

Iraq's neighbors Syria and Iran have urged the Iraqis to reject the deal.

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