Ex-Iranian Diplomat Returns Home after 6 Years of House Arrest in Britain
A former Iranian diplomat who recently won a UK High Court battle to avoid extradition to the US and was cleaned from all accusations, returned homeThe former Iranian Ambassador to Jordan, Nasrollah Tajik, 59, was released last Thursday and his extradition to the US was blocked with efforts made by the Iranian foreign ministry and Oman's government. Tajik who spent six years under house arrest in Britain, left London for Masqat and then for Tehran on Tuesday and was welcomed by family members and several Iranian officials upon arrival at Tehran's Mehrabad airport. The Westminster Court in London issued the order of Tajik's release last Thursday afternoon after a brief session attended by Tajik and his attorneys. A UK High Court had issued a ruling on November 27 which blocked the extradition of Nasrollah Tajik, 59, to the US.
Tajik was the target of an American sting operation in London six years ago and was wanted for allegedly conspiring to export US defense night-vision goggles to Iran without a license. The ex-Iranian ambassador to Jordan, turned engineering scholar, was arrested in 2006 after agents from the US Department of Homeland Security pretended to be co-conspirators. There were long delays in the extradition process amid fears that sending Tajik to America for trial could cause further diplomatic problems between the UK and Iran.