WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Obama reportedly urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak not to run for office again.
The New York Times, the Al Arabiya news network and other media quoted U.S. officials on Tuesday as saying that Obama relayed the message through Frank Wisner, a former U.S. diplomat, who met Tuesday with Mubarak. Egyptian presidential elections are slated for September.
The Obama administration has been struggling for days to address the intensifying protests in Egypt calling for an end to Mubarak’s 30-year autocracy.
For decades the United States has backed Egypt as a reliable ally in its anti-terrorism activities and in maintaining its peace with Israel.
