Iran next week will start rationing its heavily subsidised gasoline for three months, the head of parliament's energy commission said.

Iranian lawmakers have made several statements in recent days on when the delayed scheme to ration fuel in Opec's number two exporter may be implemented, but the government has yet to announce the exact timing.

Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri-Hameneh said on Thursday the final decision will be taken this week.

The government had initially planned to introduce rationing on May 22 but delayed the move partly because of problems in issuing smart cards, although it did raise the gasoline price by 25 per cent to 1,000 rials (11 US cents) a litre -- still among the lowest fuel prices in the world.

'The government has decided to start the rationing (of gasoline) for three months from next week,' the Ham-Mihan daily quoted the head of parliament's energy commission Kamal Daneshyar as saying.

'After these three months the amount of gasoline that has been saved, the problems and the benefits of this plan will be studied,' he said, adding the scheme may then be extended.

Despite huge crude reserves, Iran lacks refining capacity and has to import about 40 per cent of its gasoline needs which it then heavily subsidies.

Analysts say that puts a big strain on state coffers and encourages waste. The imports are seen as sensitive when world powers are threatening to ratchet up UN sanctions on Iran for failing to heed UN demands to limit its atomic work.

Daneshyar added that the quota of fuel for each car will be 100 litres per month

The first phase of gasoline rationing started on June 14, limiting fuel that drivers of state-owned cars can buy. Some Iranians have been stocking up gasoline in recent weeks, local media has said.

Drivers must also produce electronic 'smart' cards to buy any fuel, and there have also been media reports of problems in their distribution.

The US, which is leading efforts to isolate Iran over its nuclear plans, has said Iran's gasoline imports are a point of 'leverage'. Washington accuses Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. Reuters