US tells Mubarak not to run again

United States President Barack Obama says Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should not run for president again, according to US diplomats. This message was reportedly  sent to Mubarak via former US diplomat Frank Wisner.

Reuters/Jim Young

This new, stronger message also called for Mubarak to announce publicly that he would not run again. The US had previously called for an "orderly transition" in Egypt.

Obama has called a high-level White House meeting to deal with the crisis in Egypt as hundreds of thousands of people in Cairo and other cities in Egypt are protesting and calling for Mubarak to step down.

US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey met with Egyptian opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei earlier Tuesday.

US Senator John Kerry earlier Tuesday called for both Mubarak and his son to promise the people of Egypt they they would not stand in the upcoming presidential elections in September.

"It is not enough for President Mubarak to pledge 'fair' elections, as he did on Saturday," said  Kerry, in an op-ed piece the New York Times.

"Egyptians have moved beyond his regime, and the best way to avoid unrest turning into upheaval is for President Mubarak to take himself and his family out of the equation," wrote Kerry, who is chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.