U.S. official presses Saleh to give up

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, July 11 (UPI) -- A top U.S. official has met with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in a Saudi hospital and pressed him to sign a resignation deal, the White House says.

"The United States believes that a transition in Yemen should begin immediately," spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement reported by al-Arabiya.

The Saudi network reported that Saleh, wounded in a June assassination attempt, looked extremely frail when presidential counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan visited him Sunday, and his rigid limbs appeared to be artificial.

Carney said Brennan wished Saleh a swift recovery and repeated U.S. denunciation of the attack against him. He also promised aid to the desperately poor country once Saleh signs the deal brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council of Arab states.

"Mr. Brennan emphasized the importance of resolving the political crisis in Sanaa so that the Yemeni government and people can successfully confront the serious challenges they face, including the terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula," Carney said.