TEHRAN, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday that the latest statement by the U.S. president over Iran's nuclear program threatened global security.

U.S. President George W. Bush said at a White House news conference on Wednesday, a day after the Russian president's visit to Tehran, that if Iran develops nuclear weapons, the result could be a new world war.

"Statements of this kind reflect America's expansionist goals, which will surely weaken international security and ignite the U.S. government's militarist policy," Mohammad Ali Hosseini said.

The spokesman said pre-election anxiety, on the one hand, combined with a failure by the U.S. to restore order in Iraq and Afghanistan on the other, are exhausting Washington's militarist policy, making the president seek ways to distract public opinion from domestic problems.

Hosseini called on the U.S. administration to refrain from a unilateral approach in the international arena and to respect other country's sovereignty.

The United States has led international efforts to pressure Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, which Washington suspects is a covert weapons program. Tehran insists it is only for peaceful goals.

Talking about his visit to Iran, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he saw no evidence that Iran was developing nuclear weapons

Asked by a journalist about Putin's comments, Bush said: "I look forward to having him clarify those." He went on to say, "I believe they [the Iranians] want to have the capacity, the knowledge, in order to make a nuclear weapon. And I know it's in the world's interest to prevent them from doing so."

"If you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," the president said.