Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini has criticized Senator John McCain for joking about killing Iranians with cigarettes.

“McCain's crude remark on the indiscriminate killing of the Iranian nation not only testifies to his disturbed state of mind, but also to his warmongering approach to foreign policy,” said Hosseini in a Saturday statement.

“We condemn such jokes and believe them to be inappropriate for a US presidential candidate. It is most evident that jokes about genocide will not be tolerated by Iranians or Americans,” he added.

The straight-talking Arizona senator sparked an outcry when in response to a report that US exports to Iran had increased more than tenfold during George W. Bush's presidency, he suggested killing Iranians by sending them cigarettes.

"Maybe that's a way of killing them,” the senior Republican opined.

Last year at a campaign meeting in South Carolina when asked if there is a plan to attack Iran, McCain joked about 'bombing Iran', signing a variation on the lyrics of a well-known pop song.

"You know that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran?" he said, singing "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" before answering the question.

He later responded to the stark criticism his remarks drew with a simple 'lighten up'.

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