Iran president visits area hit by cold, fuel cuts

TEHRAN, Jan 11 (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday toured areas of northern Iran hard hit by a cold snap and heavy snowfalls that have led to some deaths, media reported.

Mazandaran and other northern provinces next to the Caspian Sea have suffered particularly from the colder than usual winter and fuel shortages. Officials have urged Iranians across Iran to conserve gas usage where possible.

The president met officials in Mazandaran to help with problems caused by the "unusual cold weather in this and other northern provinces and the cut and reduction of gas supplies," IRNA news agency reported.

Some areas of Iran have seen snow for the first time in years. Officials said this week a number of people had died from the cold or in traffic accidents caused by the weather.

Gas supplies in Iran, which sits on the world's second biggest reserves, have suffered as Iranians have turned up heating and Turkmenistan cut exports to the Islamic Republic.

Iranian officials say Turkmenistan cited technical reasons for the cut but believe their neighbour wants to charge more. Iran says it will not discuss prices until supplies are back.

People in Mazandaran and other areas in the north had to queue earlier in January for alternative fuels to heat their homes and cook food due to gas shortages. Officials have since said they added extra gas to the network from Iran's southern gas fields but have still been urging conservation.

Government offices, schools and universities were closed in some regions partly to conserve fuel.

The cold weather and row with Turkmenistan prompted Iran to disrupt the flow of its gas to neighbouring Turkey, part of a chain of supply disruptions in the region. Turkey has said Iran has promised to restore supplies on Monday. (Reporting by Zahra Hosseinian and Edmund Blair)