Ebadi was due to arrive in the Iranian capital at 1700 GMT on Iran Air flight IR732.

Supporters have urged Iranians to greet her at the airport before she goes on to make a scheduled media conference.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami earlier Tuesday warned Ebadi -- who had been in Paris when the Peace Prize announcement was made Friday -- to "pay attention" when she returns to the country.

Before leaving Paris, Ebadi told journalists and wellwishers that she hoped her prize "will have an influence so that the human rights situation in all Muslim countries, including Iran, improves."

The 56-year-old lawyer and former judge was notably rewarded by the Oslo-based Nobel Committee for her struggle to improve rights for children and women in Iran, where hardline clerics have imposed a fundamentalist view of Islam.

Ebadi said she had "no feeling of fear" to return to Iran.

"Today, I feel like a child who is returning into the arms of her mother," she said.

She has said that she plans to travel to Oslo on December 10 to receive the Peace Prize, which also carries a purse of 1.1 million euros (1.3 million dollars).

WAR.WIRE