Mr Obama has been increasing pressure on the Egyptian leader since protests began US demands clear Egypt transition
Mr Obama has been increasing pressure on the Egyptian leader since protests began US President Barack Obama says the Egyptian government has yet to put forward a “credible, concrete and unequivocal” path to democracy.
Mr Obama said “too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy”.
Mr Mubarak has reiterated plans to stay in office until September’s polls, but said he would hand over some powers.
Anti-government protesters have reacted angrily to Mr Mubarak’s address.
“The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient,” said Mr Obama.
“The Egyptian government must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity,” he said.
In an address late on Thursday, President Mubarak said he would delegate some powers to Vice-President Omar Suleiman, but the details remain unclear.
His comments in a national TV address confounded earlier reports that he was preparing to stand down immediately.
Speaking after Mr Mubarak’s speech, Mr Obama urged restraint from all sides, and said it was “imperative that the government not respond to the aspirations of their people with repression or brutality.”
At the scene
This was the third time that President Mubarak has disappointed anti-government protesters since this uprising began by refusing to step down.
At the same time as he said on state television that he felt “pain in my heart for what I hear from some of my countrymen”, huge crowds of Egyptians were yelling “Be gone” and waving their shoes in dismay.
Mr Mubarak did try to reach out to young people, praising them and promising that the blood of their “martyrs” would “not go down the drain”. He restated his commitments to constitutional reforms and a peaceful transition of power in September’s election. He mentioned handing some powers to his vice-president, crucially without expanding on this point.
Some parts of this speech were condescending, with the president addressing Egyptians as “a father to his children”. He also answered rumours he had left the country by stating: “I will not separate from the soil until I am buried beneath it.”
Anger looks set to increase with more demonstrations already planned to follow Friday prayers. Many people chanted “tomorrow, tomorrow” as they left Tahrir Square.
The US president’s remarks came in the strongest statement yet from the White House on the Egypt protests, and are a sign the White House is not satisfied by Mr Mubarak’s announcement, says the BBC’s Andrew North in Washington.
Earlier in the day, Mr Obama had seemed euphoric, preparing for Mr Mubarak to step down, adds our correspondent.
In his address, Mr Mubarak, 82, said he would “protect the constitution and the people and transfer power to whomever is elected next September in free and transparent elections.”
Mr Mubarak added that the country’s emergency laws would only be lifted when conditions were right, and said he would ignore “diktats from abroad”.
Watching the address in Tahrir Square, protesters waved their shoes in disgust and chanted “Down with Mubarak” when it became clear he was not going to step down. Thousands were reported to be heading towards the presidential palace some distance away.
The BBC’s Paul Adams in Tahrir Square said the mood contrasted dramatically with the celebratory, almost party atmosphere that existed in the hours running up to the speech.
Demonstrators say they will not leave until Mr Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years, hands over power immediately.
Several hundred people have died since protests began more than two weeks ago.
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