US Imposes Sanctions on Two Iranian Officials Said to Be Linked to Robert Levinson Abduction
Christine Levinson (R), wife of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, watches as her son, Daniel Levinson, displays a web print of his father’s picture to journalists, while attending a news conference, at the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 22, 2007. Photo: Reuters / Morteza Nikoubazl.
The United States on Monday blacklisted two Iranian officials who it accused of involvement in the March 2007 disappearance of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who the United States believes was abducted in Iran and died in captivity.
In announcing that it had imposed sanctions on Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai of Iran‘s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, US officials told reporters that their public identification would lead to further information about Levinson.
“The abduction of Mr. Levinson in Iran is an outrageous example of the Iranian regime’s willingness to commit unjust acts,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
As a result of the sanctions, all property of the two men falling under US jurisdiction must be blocked and US persons are generally barred from dealing with them. Non-US persons risk being blacklisted for dealing with them and foreign banks could be punished for knowingly facilitating a significant transaction for them.
In a conference call, US officials said all evidence the United States has gathered so far indicates that Levinson, who went missing on Iran‘s Kish Island in the Gulf in 2007, likely died in captivity.
One official, anticipating US President-elect Joe Biden’s expected effort to restore the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran or to secure a wider agreement, said any deal must entail freeing U.S. citizens “unjustly detained by Iran.”
At least three US citizens are currently detained by Iran: Baquer Namazi, his son Siamak Namazi, and Morad Tahbaz.