Expect a call for Mubarak to resign by lunchtime.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is urging Egyptian leaders to include more people in a national dialogue on reform but won’t endorse demands from protesters for the immediate resignation of embattled President Hosni Mubarak.

As the U.S. anxiously awaits political developments in its staunchest Arab ally, administration officials warned Monday that a precipitous exit by Mubarak could set back the country’s democratic transition.

After several days of mixed messages, the administration coalesced around a position that cautiously welcomes nascent reform efforts begun by newly appointed Vice President Omar Suleiman that may or may not result in Mubarak’s resignation before September, when elections are to be held. Mubarak has said he will not run.

On Monday night the Los Angeles Times reported that the United States is backing off from calls for immediate reform in Egypt. “The Obama administration has reconciled itself to gradual political reform in Egypt,” the paper wrote.