Official: Yemen's president heading to U.S. for treatment From Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN January 22, 2012 -- Updated 1622 GMT (0022 HKT) Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, seen here on December 24, 2011, has been granted complete immunity from prosecution. NEW: A Yemeni official says Samen will go first to a neighboring country Ali Abdullah Saleh says he will return to Yemen as his party's president His announcement comes a day after Yemen's parliament gives him immunity A senior Obama administration official has said Saleh can come to New York for treatment (CNN) -- Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will leave Yemen Sunday for a neighboring country en route to the United States, a Yemeni government official said. President Saleh will leave Yemen today. He will depart in the next several hours. He will go first to a neighboring country. It is unclear when he will go to the U.S., but the U.S. is his ultimate destination," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to speak to the media. Yemeni state television reported earlier Sunday that Saleh had announced he was going to the United States for medical treatment. Saleh was wounded in a June bomb attack on his presidential palace. A senior Obama administration official said last month that Saleh would be allowed to come to the United States for medical treatment in New York. A U.S. State Department spokesman declined to comment Sunday. The Yemeni government official said Saleh would return to Yemen for the swearing-in ceremony of Vice President Abdurabu Hadi, who is expected to win the presidency after elections in February. Saleh said he would return to Sanaa as the president of his party, the General People's Congress, according to state television. His announcement came a day after Yemen's parliament approved a controversial law that gives Saleh complete immunity from prosecution. The immunity law was a key element in the Gulf Cooperation Council power transfer deal Saleh signed in November. The United Nations' envoy to Yemen arrived in the country last week to ease the tension after fears grew that the deal would collapse. CNN's Shirley Henry and journalist Hakim Almasmari contributed to this report.