Iran has postponed increasing petrol prices for at least a month despite a plan to phase out subsidies that was due to start by late September, a senior official said.

Motorists will continue to receive a monthly quota of 60 litres of petrol at subsidised prices of about 10 US cents a litre until October 22, Mohammad Royanian, who heads Iran's Fuel and Transport Management Organisation, said.

The government will also continue to provide petrol at a 'semi-subsidised' price of 40 cents a litre for a month to consumers exceeding their quotas, according to a report in our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News.

The Iranian government is yet to unveil the details of its plan to scrap fuel subsidies amid speculation about eventual prices.