However, the Iranians are pushing for something tangible up front, not just promises of future "carrots," diplomats familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.

"Iran wants something up front if it's going to suspend enrichment, not just promises. But the Europeans have refused," a diplomat said.

The Europeans have promised Iran a light-water nuclear reactor, which would be more difficult to use for weapons activity than heavy-water reactors. They have also agreed to open trade talks with the EU and thaw political relations.

The EU-Iran arrangement is similar to a deal the United States worked out with North Korea in the early 1990s, exchanging heavy-water for light-water technology while the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), supervised a freeze of its nuclear program.

But diplomats said French and German companies told their governments they would not be interested in supplying Iran with a reactor in case it harmed business with the United States.

FULL SUSPENSION

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Tehran was still reviewing the agreement reached in Paris.

"Surely we would have given our answer if the (Paris) talks did not have problems," state television quoted him as saying.

An Iranian source close to internal discussions on whether or not to accept the deal said, however, Tehran would probably agree to it.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told Germany's parliament the talks with Iran had been "anything but easy."

"Only the full and lasting suspension of enrichment activities ... by Iran can open the way for results-oriented talks on long-term cooperation," Fischer said.

He said he did not want to call into question Iran's right to use nuclear energy for peaceful means. "But it's also clear that a military nuclearization of Iran would be a dangerous development for what is already one of the most dangerous regions in the world," he added.

Oil-rich Iran denies wanting nuclear technology for anything besides power generation.

Another diplomat said time was running out for Iran to accept the deal, which would enable Iran to escape a referral to the U.N. Security Council when the IAEA board of governors meets on Nov. 25.

If Iran rejects the deal, it will most likely be referred to the Security Council this month, diplomats say.

Washington, which says Iran's nuclear energy program is a front for developing the bomb, wants Iran reported to the Security Council for concealing its uranium enrichment program from the IAEA for nearly two decades.

One of the sticking points in the talks with Iran concerns the preparation of uranium for the enrichment process. The Europeans want all uranium conversion activities halted, while Tehran wants to continue with some conversion work.

(Additional reporting by Paul Hughes in Tehran)