( CNN ) -- The United States will not bargain with al Qaeda over the life of an American worker filmed making an emotional plea to President Barack Obama to save his life , U.S. officials said Monday . `` We do n't make concessions to terrorists , '' State Department spokesman Mark Toner said when asked whether the United States would meet the demands contained in a video posted Sunday to several Islamist websites featuring Warren Weinstein . `` My life is in your hands , Mr. President , '' said the American captured in August from his home in the Pakistani city of Lahore . `` If you accept the demands , I live . If you do n't accept the demands , then I die . '' White House spokesman Jay Carney reiterated the point , saying that while the administration 's hearts go out to Weinstein and his family , `` we can not and will not negotiate with al Qaeda . '' Ayman al-Zawahiri , leader of the al Qaeda terror network , listed eight demands that he said , if met , would result in Weinstein 's release . The demands related to issues in the Middle East , Pakistan , Afghanistan and Somalia . `` It is important that you accept these demands and act quickly and do n't delay , '' Weinstein said in the video posted Sunday . Toner said that U.S. officials had not corroborated the video and could not say with certainty that the man in the video is Weinstein . He said he believes Weinstein is likely being held in the tribal areas of Pakistan , but that the United States has no way to verify it . The State Department said Monday that U.S. officials , including the FBI , are assisting Pakistani authorities in the investigation . Toner said Monday that the government is staying in close contact with Weinstein 's family . In the video , which is less than three minutes long , Weinstein makes references to Obama 's daughters and to his own children ; he says he wants to let his wife know he is `` fine and well . '' Al Qaeda 's demands include the lifting of the blockade on movement of people and trade between Egypt and Gaza ; an end to bombing by the United States and its allies in Pakistan , Afghanistan , Yemen , Somalia and Gaza ; the release of anyone arrested on charges of belonging to al Qaeda and the Taliban . It also calls for the release of all prisoners in Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , and American secret prisons and the closure of Guantanamo and the other prisons . The group also wants the release of terrorists convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the release of relatives of Osama bin Laden , the founder of al Qaeda who was killed last year in Pakistan . Weinstein was captured after his kidnappers managed to overcome the three security guards who were protecting him . As the guards prepared for the meal before the Ramadan fast , three men knocked at the front gate and offered food for the meal -- a traditional practice among Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan , according to the Lahore police . Once the gate was opened , the three men forced their way in while five others entered the house from the back , tied up the guards and duct-taped their mouths , according to the police . They pistol-whipped the driver and forced him to take them to Weinstein 's room , where they also hit Weinstein on the head with a pistol and forced him out of the house and into a waiting car , the police said . A police official said in August that three suspects had been arrested in Weinstein 's kidnapping . Weinstein was working for J.E . Austin Associates Inc. , a consulting firm based in Arlington , Virginia . CNN 's Elise Labott and Saad Abedine contributed to this report .
NEW : United States wo n't negotiate for American 's release , officials say . Warren Weinstein was abducted in Pakistan in August . Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility and set out conditions for his release . In a video released Sunday , Weinstein says his life is in Obama 's hands .