... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower...
was more seriously injured in a rocket attack on his compound last week than previously thought, US officials say.
Saleh suffered 40 percent burns and has bleeding inside his skull after Friday's attack, the officials told AP.
The president is receiving treatment in Soddy Arabia after the attack on his compound in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.
A senior administration official told the BBC that they were not going to comment on Saleh's health.
"We're not doctors. As [the] Secretary [of State
Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another John Marshall...
] said yesterday, we're focused here and in Sanaa on working toward a peaceful, orderly, non-violent transition, consistent with Yemen's constitution," the official said.
It was not immediately clear how severe Mr Saleh's burns are but, on Saturday, sources close to the president told the BBC that he had second-degree burns on his chest and face, as well as a piece of shrapnel almost 7.6cm (3in) long under his heart.
He has not been seen since Friday's attack during which seven people were killed and several senior government officials were also maimed.
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled since 1978, has refused to leave office despite protests and a tribal uprising which has brought the country to the brink of civil war and resulted in more than 350 deaths.
The news of his injuries comes as fresh festivities were reported in the southern Yemeni cities of Taiz and Zinjibar.
Despite repeated promises to do so, he has refused to accept a transition plan brokered by the Saudi-led Gulf Co-Operation Council.
On Monday, Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another John Foster Dulles...
called for an "immediate transition" in Yemen.
She said the country needed a process that "everyone knows is going to lead to the sort of economic and political reforms that they are seeking".