Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a US newspaper the Wall Street crisis stemmed partly from American military interventions and said the next US president should back off what he called President George W. Bush's confrontational policies.

In New York to address the United Nations General Assembly, Ahmadinejad said the UN's nuclear watchdog agency offers "the best guarantee" that Iran will enrich uranium for peaceful uses.

"The US government has made a series of mistakes in the past few decades. First, the imposition on the US economy of heavy military engagement and involvement around the world ... the war in Iraq, for example... These are heavy costs." Ahmadinejad said.