Monday- U.S. officials called out Iran, formally blaming two intelligence officers for the kidnapping and probable death of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent. He disappeared about 14 years ago from an island in Iran.
The federal government said the actions attributed to Ahmad Khazai and Mohammad Baseri were mandated by top Iranian officials, concluding in the likely death of Robert.
The penalty announcement against the two officers, coming at the end of the Trump government, was mostly symbolic. But the action could muddle up the incoming Biden government’s plans to restore the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran that President Trump had discarded in 2018.
The White House said in a report, “No family should ever go through the pain the Levinson family has for about 14 years. Iran is at fault and can end this ordeal by answering questions for which only they know the answers. Any upcoming talks with Iran must include a resolve to this case.”
Trump government officials stated in March that Levinson had probably died in Iranian custody after disappearing from the island of Kish. Precisely what Levinson was doing there remains a mystery, with some reports indicating he was working for the CIA to induct an Iranian spy.
Levinson’s case has been an intensely controversial flashpoint between Iran and the United States for years. He was the longest-held prisoner in the history of America, although Iranian officials declined to confirm his location- saying they had no details about him.
An evidence-of-life video appeared in 2011, followed by photos of him wearing an orange jumpsuit of the kind generally related with hostages or prisoners.
His wife, Christine Levinson, reported that she did not know why Robert travelled to Iran. He never told her about the jobs he did for the government; she said in an interview with CNN last year. They had seven children, and the youngest was just 5-months old when he disappeared.
