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US blacklists two Iranian officials over Levinson abduction

December 14, 2020 at 6:18 pm

Former FBI agent Robert Levinson seen in photos sent to his family by his captors sometime in April 2011 [Robert Levinson family]

The United States on Monday blacklisted two Iranian officials who it accused of involvement in the 2007 disappearance of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who Washington believes was abducted in Iran and died in captivity.

The sanctions on Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security are the latest in a long series of such actions by US President Donald Trump, whose term ends on January 20 when President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.

As a result of the sanctions, any property of the men under US jurisdiction must be blocked and US persons are generally barred from dealing with them. Foreign persons risk blacklisting for dealing with them and foreign banks also could be punished for knowingly facilitating a significant transaction for them.

“Senior Iranian officials authorized Levinson’s abduction and detention and launched a disinformation campaign to deflect blame from the regime,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

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 April 2007, likely died in captivity.

READ: US court orders Iran to pay $1.4bn in damages to detained FBI agent’s family

Levinson’s family said on March 25 it believed Levinson died in Iranian custody, based on information from US officials.

The US officials declined to detail why they had announced the sanctions now, saying only that it is a lengthy process to gather the evidence and to make the legal determination.

One reason for the timing maybe to make it harder for Biden to negotiate a return to world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran – which Trump abandoned in 2018 – if Iran resumes complying with the accord, without ensuring the release of all US citizens detained by the Islamic Republic.

“We all expect a negotiation next year,” a senior US official told reporters. “There should be no agreement negotiated with Iran ever again that doesn’t free the Americans who are unjustly detained in that country.”

The Iranian government has never publicly acknowledged any role in Levinson’s abduction, though at the time of his disappearance a government-affiliated media outlet broadcast a story saying he was “in the hands of Iranian security forces”.

At least three U.S. citizens are currently detained by Iran: Baquer Namazi, his son Siamak Namazi, and Morad Tahbaz.