A JUDGE has ruled that a former Iranian diplomat living in the North-East should be extradited to the US to face charges of trying to buy military equipment for his homeland.

Nosratollah Tajik, 53, of Coxhoe, County Durham, who was an honorary fellow at Durham University, has been accused of being the British link in a £1.5m international arms-smuggling ring spanning the US, Holland and Turkey.

Mr Tajik, who was Iran's ambassador to Jordan between 1999 and 2003, was arrested last autumn after US agents from the Department of Homeland Security allegedly filmed him secretly in London hotels discussing a deal for night-vision weapons sights worth more than £50,000.

Iran, which has been branded a "rogue state'' and accused of trying to develop nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism in neighbouring Iraq, is the subject of an arms embargo.

Mr Tajik, who lives with his wife, Mahboubeh Sadghi'nia, and two sons, has an engineering degree from the University of Westminster. In 2004, he taught Farsi at Durham University's Institute of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies.

His legal team claimed the US acted illegally by entrapping a man on British soil and argued that the evidence obtained in the operation would not be admissible under English law.

They also fought the extradition request on the grounds that he should not be prosecuted in the US for crimes allegedly committed in this country.

His lawyers claimed the US was pursuing him because of his religion, nationality and politics.

But at yesterday's hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court, in London, District Judge Caroline Tubbs ruled that it was appropriate that Mr Tajik be prosecuted in the US.

She told the court that the "intended effect of the alleged actions was to bring about harm within the US" by exporting equipment from America directly or indirectly to Iran.

She also said there was no evidence of an abuse of process in the actions of the US agents or any evidence that Mr Tajik's prosecution was politically motivated.

Mr Tajik also fought his extradition on the grounds of ill health, because he is suffering from heart disease and angina and has undergone recent treatment, as well as on human rights grounds.

But the judge ruled there was nothing exceptional in his personal circumstances that would merit blocking the extradition and referred the case to the Secretary of State.

Mr Tajik has the right to appeal against the court's ruling and was released on bail.

Mr Tajik's wife, a student, told a previous hearing that her family's life had been shattered.

She said: "We have had our home and car attacked four times, and with these attacks we do not feel safe or secure any more. All the time we are waiting for something. I do not go to the university any more, but stay at home."

In 2005, Mr Tajik was alleged to have been involved in a recruitment drive for Palestinian terrorist operations in Israel while he was a diplomat.

The allegation was made by Matthew A Levitt, director of terrorism studies at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, during a US House of Representatives inquiry.