Iran says Kerry's remarks on sanctions unacceptable

Iran has rejected remarks by US Secretary of State John Kerry that its policies in Syria and Yemen are blocking efforts to encourage banks to do business with it.

In an interview published Friday, Kerry told Foreign Affairs magazine that Iranian support for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement and Yemen's Huthi rebels made it "very difficult" to help Iran improve its banking system and business practices.

"Mr Kerry's comments are totally unacceptable," Iran's deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told state television on Sunday night.

"We are surprised. During the nuclear negotiations, we clearly said that questions of security, defence, ballistic missiles and our regional policies were not negotiable and are not linked to the nuclear talks," he said.