Tehran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that the global market crisis was due to Western hegemonic policies.

"This (crisis) is the result of their (Western) hegemony and their violating policies beyond their own borders," Ahmadinejad said in a speech in the Caspian Sea city Rasht in northern Iran.

He was referring to the Western military presence in Iraq, and support for Israel in the dispute with the Palestinians.

"Even the billions of state aid will not settle the crisis unless you (the West) return to the path of spirituality and justice," the president added in the speech carried live by news network Khabar.

Ahmadinejad said unlike the West, "the flag of the Iranian nation is hoisted in the world with pride."

Iran's market has not been directly affected by the global crisis, mainly because, due to international sanctions against the country, the Islamic state has few direct economic links with the outside world except income generated from oil. (dpa)