Khamenei has criticised Iran's liberal media

IRNA said the head of the Iranian judiciary, Ayatollah Mohmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, issued an order on Sunday reversing the injunction.

The temporary ban was the latest in a crackdown on reformist media by hardline rivals of Iran's moderate president Mohammed Khatami.

No reason was given for the paper's suspension, although a BBC regional analyst says it is likely to do with a recent article which Iranian religious authorities said insulted the Prophet Mohammed.

Last week, the newspaper published an item which suggested the prophet enjoyed listening to women sing and play music.

Women singing before a male audience is considered un-Islamic in Iran, which banned such activities two years ago.

The head of the newspaper, Abdol Rassul Vessal, said the publication was closed after 96 complaints against it.

Press battleground

The judiciary also shut down another liberal newspaper, Bonyan, to which writers of banned publications frequently contribute.

It is not known whether the order against Bonyan will also be reversed.

The Iranian press has become one of the main battlegrounds between conservative hardliners and President Khatami.

More than 80 publications supporting the president have been shut down over the past two years and dozens of reformist campaigners jailed.