WASHINGTON  As Iraq moved to force Blackwater Worldwide out of the country, the State Department asked two other American companies how quickly they could take over the company’s contract to provide personal security for American diplomats in Baghdad, several American officials said Thursday.

Iraqi government officials announced this week that they had refused to give a license to operate to Blackwater, whose guards were involved in shootings that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead in Baghdad in September 2007.

The State Department responded Thursday by saying that it would comply with Iraq’s order, though a spokesman said no decision had yet been made on how the department would replace Blackwater.

But last month, State Department officials met with representatives from Blackwater and two other security contractors, Dyncorp International and Triple Canopy, said participants in the meeting, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the subject.