"We are discussing and examining how to suspend enrichment," Hamid Reza Asefi told Reuters by telephone.

He earlier told a news conference Iran had suspended its disputed enrichment process following a deal with the European Union "big three" who pressed Iran to prove it was not seeking nuclear arms.

Iran met with foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday and agreed to suspend uranium enrichment and sign up to snap inspections of nuclear sites.

Asefi described the agreement as being in the interests of Iran but said the Islamic Republic reserved the right to restart enrichment at its own discretion.

"Any time we feel it is necessary, we will stop the suspension," he told reporters at the news conference.

The Islamic Republic was given an October 31 deadline by the UN's nuclear watchdog to prove it is not seeking atomic weapons by granting inspectors "unrestricted access" to nuclear sites and suspending uranium enrichment.

A member of the Expediency Council, the powerful body that arbitrates between the predominantly reformist parliament and the hardline Guardian Council, was reported on Saturday as saying an order to suspend enrichment had been issued.