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US demands 'credible answers' from Iran on Robert Levinson's abduction

The Biden administration pledged to hold Iran accountable for the former FBI agent's disappearance 14 years ago.

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The FBI says this and similar photos of Robert Levinson were emailed to his family in 2011. The family said last year that the US government believed he had died before the coronavirus hit Iran. — FBI

The United States will “continue to demand answers” from Iran about the abduction, detention and probable death of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Tuesday marking the anniversary of his disappearance.  

“After 14 years and repeated, persistent efforts to secure Iran’s cooperation in locating Mr. Levinson, we are still without answers,” Psaki said. “Nevertheless, we will continue to demand answers and to hold Iran accountable.”

Levinson disappeared on Iran’s remote Kish Island in March 2007 during an unauthorized CIA mission that the US government for years claimed was a private business trip. He hasn’t been seen or heard from publicly since, and the Iranian government denied holding the veteran agent in its custody. 

In March 2020, the Levinson family announced in a statement that the US government believed Levinson had died sometime before the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran. His remains have not been recovered. 

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