Iran has finished considering an offer to settle its international nuclear dispute, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said in South Africa's capital Pretoria on Monday.

Mottaki made the statement ahead of a meeting of the South Africa-Iran bilateral commission.

He said he hoped that a comprehensive agreement could be reached, adding: "We hope there is some cooperation and negotiation respecting the right of Iran to have nuclear technology and remove any questions."

Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States in June offered to allow Iran to obtain civilian nuclear power while requiring a verifiable halt to uranium enrichment and other potential nuclear weapons' development.

South Africa's Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma said South Africa, which is also on the board of the International Nuclear Energy Agency, would continue to support Iran's right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

She hoped the issue that had been referred to the Security Council could be resolved soon.

"We urge all parties to avoid confrontation but to use negotiation to solve the matter," Dlamini Zuma added.