During the interview, the president hinted that Mohsen and the Ahmar tribe may have played a role in the assassination attempt against him.

He said the government was waiting for the results of a U.S. investigation into the attack which was due to be completed by the end of this month.

Fighting between forces loyal to Mr. Saleh and opposition-aligned tribesmen has escalated over the past two weeks. On Wednesday, anti-government tribesmen shot down a government warplane near the capital.

Yemen's foreign minister has blamed the turmoil on the opposition's refusal to accept 2006 presidential results. Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said Tuesday that Mr. Saleh is committed to pushing forward a long-stalled plan to transfer power to a deputy.

Mr. Saleh has agreed to the proposal three times since April, but has backed out each time before it could be signed.