Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez Thursday said that his US counterpart George W. Bush's recent claims about the use of atomic weapons by Iran show that "he needs to be admitted in a mental hospital."

The Venezuelan ruler's comments came during a ceremony to initial nine agreements with the Algerian Minister of Energy Chakib Jelil in the presidential palace of Miraflores, downtown Caracas, Efe reported.

"Please notice that he (Bush) has threatened with atomic bombs. He is threatening with a Third World War with atomic bombs. This shows he should be admitted in a mental hospital. He is at the doors of a mental hospital," Chávez said.

Further, Chávez once again asked the United States to withdraw US troops from Iraq. "I am seizing this opportunity to ask him, for God's sake, to order immediate withdrawal of the troops who are slaughtering this Arab people."