US sanctions Iran officials over ex-FBI agent's disappearance
The US administration has imposed sanctions on two Iranian officials for their alleged role in the abduction and presumed death of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, blaming Tehran directly for his disappearance.
Levingston's family and US officials announced earlier this year that Levinson, who vanished in Iran while on a rogue CIA mission in 2007, had died without releasing any details on what exactly happened to him.
On Monday, the US State Department released a statement saying Levinson was captured by agents of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) on the country's Kish Island "on or about March 9, 2007".
Washington blacklisted two MOIS officers, Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, whom it said were involved in the abduction.
"The Iranian regime has a 41-year history of abducting and detaining foreigners and dual-nationals as political leverage," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.
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"We reiterate our strong warning to US citizens and dual-nationals that traveling to Iran may jeopardize their personal safety. The abduction, detention, and probable death of Mr. Levinson is another egregious example of the regime’s callous disregard toward human life."
Tehran has maintained that Levinson is not in Iranian custody.
The circumstances and nature of Levinson's presence in Iran at the time of his abduction remain unclear. US officials and the former agent's family have said that he was on an unauthorised CIA mission.
In 2010, a video emerged of Levinson pleading for help from the US government to secure his freedom. In it, he mentions an unidentified "group" that had held him for three years.
Three years later, his family released photos of a bearded Levinson in shackles and an orange jumpsuit, holding a sign that says: "Help me". The family had received the picture anonymously in 2011.
Blaming Tehran
FBI director Christopher Wray blamed top Iranian officials for Levinson's disappearance.
"The government of Iran pledged to provide assistance in bringing Bob Levinson home, but it has never followed through," Wray said in a statement.
"The truth is that Iranian intelligence officers - with the approval of senior Iranian officials - were involved in Bob’s abduction and detention."
He vowed to continue efforts to "find out more about Bob’s long captivity, to give the Levinson family the answers they deserve, and to finally bring Bob home".
The measures against Baseri and Khazai freeze any assets they may have in the United States and bar Americans from dealing with them financially.
Monday's announcement comes as the US administration continues to pile sanctions on the Iranian government during President Donald Trump's final weeks in office.
On 20 January, Trump will be replaced by President-elect Joe Biden, who has pledged to return to the Iran nuclear deal.
In 2018, Trump abandoned the agreement, which saw Iran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions against its economy.
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