WASHINGTON - The US State Department said Tuesday that the pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is growing, urging more sanctions on his government.

"It is deeply regrettable that President Assad does not seem to be hearing the increasingly loud voice of the international community, a voice of concern that is now growing in strength, in volume and in number of countries making their views known," State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters at a regular briefing.

She noted Saudi King Abdullah's recent statement "abhorring the violence and calling on the regime for change."

"We've also seen the statement of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and the Arab League," said Nuland. "So the pressure on Assad is growing. The concern is that he is not listening."

She said the US wanted to continue to work with its partners to strengthen sanctions on Syria, believing further actions in the United Nations "would be helpful."

In the past days, a number of Arab countries and Turkey have toughened their stance on Syria. On Sunday, the six-nation GCC issued a statement, calling for an immediate end to the violence and for a prompt implementation of reforms in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrived in Damascus on Tuesday to demand an end to Syria's military crackdown against anti-government protesters.

American media reported on Tuesday that the US government would soon explicitly demand Assad leave power and would impose additional sanctions on the Syrian government.