Washington has reassured Iraqi leaders that there is no reason to worry about dramatic changes in policy as a result of Tuesday’s US elections, Zalmay Khalilzad, the US envoy to Iraq, has told the Financial Times.

Some of the Iraqis “are not as used to [American domestic politics], when things are being said in the heat of the political fight”. Some of them took that “as an indication that policies will change dramatically”, he said.

“The president has told them not to pay attention to that . . . the president will be the commander in chief and the architect of US foreign policy regardless of the outcome.” President George W. Bush’s Republican party is expecting a setback in the mid-term elections, in which US policy in Iraq has been a big factor in the Democrats’ rising fortunes.

Mr Khalilzad played down reports of tension between the US embassy and the Iraqi government and said that he welcomed statements by Nouri al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister, that he wanted more control over Iraqi security forces.

“There are some people who think that there’s a struggle going on [with] Iraqis who want to have more authority, as if we were fighting over the wheel of a car, who’s going to take charge of it,” the ambassador said. “But in fact that is not the case. Our goal is Iraqi self-reliance, [so] we welcome someone such as Mr Maliki, the leader of Iraq, saying: ‘Look, I want to take more responsibility for the security of my country, I want more forces, forces that are capable, forces that are under my control’.”

Mr Khalilzad added that Iraqi politicians were working to resolve key issues that divided the big ethnic and sectarian blocs.

“They still have the issue of the hydrocarbon law, the issue of militias and insurgents . . . even if they need a new flag or not, when do you . . . have provincial elections?” He said Iraqi leaders had claimed there would be a plan to handle militias by the end of the year.

The ambassador also said that Iraqi leaders needed to move quickly to reach compromises to retain the support of the international community. “They have to recognise that the patience of the countries that can help them is wearing thin.”

■Mr Khalilzad is likely to quit his post as US ambassador in Baghdad in the coming months, a senior official in Mr Bush’s administration said on Tuesday. His departure has been rumoured for months but he had yet to resign, the State Department official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the White House nor Mr Khalilzad has announced any personnel changes.

Mr Khalilzad could leave as soon as the end of this year but was more likely to remain in his post through the spring, the official said.

“He doesn’t want to stay there forever and there are ongoing discussions about when he will finish his time.” US officials said the envoy would probably return to an academic or private sector job in the US. His replacement may be Ryan Crocker, who is ambassador to Pakistan.