Mahmoud Mashhadani, who recently recovered from heart surgery in Jordan, said Iraqi lawmakers do not see passing the security agreement set to replace the expiring U.N. mandate for Iraq as a measure for hasty decision, the Iranian Press TV said Tuesday.

"This agreement is important for Iraq's next generations and the future. I fail to see why we should rush to sign it," the speaker said.

Baghdad agreed in principle to the agreement following a visit to Baghdad by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last week. The measure calls for U.S. troops to leave Iraq by the end of 2011.

"For those who think that it is important to keep foreign troops in Iraq, they have to find a way out for the agreement because the Parliament will not approve it," Mashhadani said.

For his part, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki questioned several parts of the agreement, including provisions granting immunity to foreign security contractors, saying the measure would violate the "sanctity of Iraqi blood."

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