December 25 2020
The United States has imposed sanctions on two Iranian intelligence officers, accusing them of “abducting” former FBI agent Robert Levinson more than 13 years go. It was the first time the US had accused the Islamic Republic of having a role in Levinson’s disappearance.
The action targeted Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, who are employed by the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) of the Islamic Republic of Iran, officials said.
“For 13 years, the Iranian government, which continues to take foreigners and dual nationals hostage as political leverage, has denied knowledge of Mr. Levinson’s whereabouts or condition,” said a statement from the US Treasury Department.
“However, senior Iranian officials authorized Levinson’s abduction and detention and launched a disinformation campaign to deflect blame from the Iranian regime. The individuals designated today, Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, acted in their capacity as MOIS officers in the abduction, detention, and probable death of Mr. Levinson.”
Levinson, who spent 22 years with the FBI before retiring and becoming a private investigator, vanished March 9, 2007, while on a trip to Kish Island, where he was said to be pursuing an investigation into cigarette smuggling for a private client.
Levinson had done contract work for the CIA on money laundering, but was not under contract to the agency when he flew to Kish.
Iran has always maintained it wasn’t behind Levinson’s disappearance and had no idea where he was. However, David Belfield, an American-born Black Muslim who defected to Iran in 1980 after killing a former Iranian diplomat under the Shah’s regime, said he was with Levinson when Iranian police accosted them on Kish. Belfield said he was taken away by the police and last saw Levinson in the custody of Iranian police officers, which contradicts years of Iranian statements.
“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.
Under the sanctions law, any property in the United States owned by either of the two men designated must be frozen. It is unlikely they own any such property, so the designations are mostly hortatory. The main point of the designations is the decision to officially link the Islamic Republic for the first time with Levinson’s disappearance.
Levinson would be 72 now if he is still alive, which the US government does not believe.
The new statements about his disappearance did not indicate why US officials believe Levinson was taken into custody and kept in custody. Nor did they explain why the government was naming the two Iranians now. Some speculate Iran wanted to extract as much information as they could about the FBI from Levinson. Levinson, however, did not deal with Iran issues during his tenure at the FBI.