AFP, VIENNA: Iran's foreign minister kept his cards close to his chest yesterday as he returned to the fray in marathon nuclear talks with major powers after consultations in Tehran, saying only he wants a "just" deal.
Meanwhile, a small crowd demonstrated in Tehran yesterday, chanting they wanted a "good nuclear deal" with world powers and unveiling what they said were millions of signatures urging that outcome.
The peaceful gathering numbered around 200 men and women and participants said their aim was to support Iran's negotiating team in Vienna.
"Any agreement has to be transparent and the commitments of both sides clear on the day of implementation. We hope to witness the success of our representatives and the nation of Iran," Alireza Zakani, a lawmaker, told the crowd at Azadi Square, according to the Fars news agency.
"Our nation has always sought peace. We are ready to sign this agreement but our Islamic dignity should be preserved also," said Hassan Akbari, a Tehran resident.
A deadline of midnight (2200 GMT) for an accord ending a dangerous 13-year standoff over Iran's nuclear ambitions was widely expected to be extended, but only for a few more days.
In what may be a positive sign, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was also due to arrive, as was German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, sources said, joining US Secretary of State John Kerry.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Monday that he would return to Vienna this week. It was unclear when counterparts from Britain and China
might arrive.
"The only agreement that the Iranian nation will accept is a just and balanced one (respecting) the national greatness and the rights of the Iranian people," Mohammad Javad Zarif told Iranian media before going into a one-on-one meeting with Kerry.
"All the officials have said they are ready for... a fair and rational trade-off," Zarif said, saying an agreement was "possible".
Zarif's return to Tehran on Sunday night after a weekend of intense negotiations with Kerry and other foreign ministers had sparked speculation that he would return with clear guidance that would enable an accord to be sealed.
It was unclear if he had. Zarif was however accompanied on his plane by Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi, as well as President Hassan Rouhani's brother and close confidante Hossein Fereydoun.
Diplomats say Salehi and his US counterpart Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz played a key role in drawing up a framework deal in Lausanne, Switzerland in April that was a major breakthrough.
Under that framework, Iran agreed to substantially scale down its nuclear activities in order to make any attempt to develop nuclear weapons -- an aim denied by Tehran -- virtually impossible.