Tehran, 27 June (AKI) - The Iranian government will continue to ration petrol, the parliamentary speakership announced, despite violent public protests overnight in the capital Tehran and elsewhere that erupted again on Wednesday. Deputy parliament speaker Javad Bahonar told MPs that oil minister Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh will shortly unveil a plan to sell petrol at market prices to private citizens who need to buy more than the 100 litres per month they are allowed under the government's newly introduced rationing. Bahonar however declined to state what the commercial price of fuel would be.

Some MPs denied that the rioting on Tuesday and Wednesday had anything to do with the government's rationing measures. "The attacks on the petrol pumps were organised well in advance by 'agents provocateurs' working for the US government, who incited some deranged individuals to set petrol stations alight," Morteza Tamaddon told journalists.

He also claimed that thousands of counterfeit dollars had been paid to these 'deranged individuals' .

The parliamentary speakership did not include in the agenda of the emergency session convened on Wednesday a motion tabled urgently by a group of MPs proposing an immediate halt to the limit on private drivers of 3.3 litres of petrol per day, which they termed an "unpopular and provocative" measure.

Under the government rationing, private cars which cannot use compressed natural gas (CNG) get 100 liters of petrol a month, and those with CNG 30 litres. Taxis and other vehicles with special permission are allowed 800 litres per month.

The maximum quota for each government car is 10 litres per day, the Iranian news agency IRNA said, quoting a statement issued on Tuesday by the oil ministry.

The rationing measures came into force late on Tuesday, at just two hours notice, sparking rioting at petrol pumps in Tehran and elsewhere. Protests reportedly spread on Wednesday to Ahwaz and Khorramshahr in the south of the country, where members of the public clashed with riot police deployed to guard petrol stations.

Long queues were reported at petrol stations late on Tuesday and on Wednesday in Tehran and other cities.

Iran is the world's fourth largest oil producer. But despite its huge energy reserves, it lacks refining capacity and imports some 44 percent of the more than 70 million litres of petrol the country consumes daily. State fuel subsides in place for years have encouraged fuel consumption, allowing token prices at the pump of just 8 eurocents per litre which has now increased by 25 percent to 10 eurocents per litre.

Iran has a large budget deficit largely caused by fuel subsidies and the inflation rate is estimated at 20-30 percent. New UN sanctions against Iran contained in a draft resolution prepared by Britain would severely limit imports of petrol and fuel for Iranian airforce and navy ships and planes as well as for cars, and would sharply curb crude oil exports, according to unnamed UN diplomats interviewed by Adnkronos International (AKI).