Retired FBI agent had been subject of mystery since his capture in Iran in 2007
Robert Levinson, whose death aged 71 or 72 has been announced by his family, was an ex-FBI agent who was kidnapped on the Iranian island of Kish, in the Persian Gulf, in March 2007, and became the longest-held hostage in United States history.
The US authorities claimed the 58-year-old father of seven was on a private business trip. ‘‘At the time of his disappearance, Mr Levinson was not working for the US government,’’ read a message signed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
A statement issued by Iran shortly after he went missing said Levinson was in the hands of its security forces. That was retracted, and nothing more was heard until
2010, when his family was anonymously emailed a video showing a bearded, emaciated Levinson – a diabetic – pleading for help, followed by ‘‘proof of life’’ photographs of him dressed in a Guantanamostyle orange jumpsuit.
In 2011 a leaked US diplomatic report said that in 2009 a political prisoner who managed to flee Iran had seen ‘‘B LEVINSON’’ scrawled on the frame of a cell in the prison where he had been held and tortured by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Then in 2013, an investigation by the Associated Press claimed that Levinson had actually been gathering intelligence on the Iranian regime, paid for by a team of rogue CIA analysts who had no authority to run spy operations.
Immediately after his disappearance the CIA had acknowledged to Congress that Levinson had previously conducted work for the agency, but claimed that, at the time he vanished, it had no relationship with Levinson and there was no connection to Iran.
In October 2007, however, Levinson’s lawyer discovered emails between Levinson and a CIA analyst called Anne Jablonski in which Levinson reported that he was developing a source with access to the Iranian regime and could arrange a meeting in Dubai or an island nearby.
The emails were turned over to the Senate intelligence committee, which touched off an internal CIA investigation. In 2008 analysts involved in the operation were disciplined and three analysts, including Jablonski, were forced out of the organisation. The CIA also allegedly paid Levinson’s family $2.5m to prevent a lawsuit.
Nonetheless, the official story remained unchanged, while Tehran denied knowledge of Levinson’s whereabouts until November last year, when it acknowledged that there was an ongoing case involving him before its revolutionary court.
Earlier in November, the State Department had offered a US$20 million reward for
President Trump has reportedly refused to accept that Levinson is dead.
information leading to Levinson’s safe return. Combined with a previous offer of $5m from the FBI, it ties for the highest publicly offered reward in US history with the bounty for Osama bin Laden. It is unclear whether the reward offer led to the information about Levinson’s fate.
Last month a US judge ruled that Iran was responsible for kidnapping Levinson and awarded his family a notional $1.5 billion. Iran did not respond to the lawsuit, and the judgment was issued in default.
Robert Alan Levinson was born in Flushing, New York. He worked for the US Drug Enforcement Administration for six years before joining the FBI. As the Soviet Union collapsed, he turned his attention to the Russian gangsters who had made their homes in Florida, making his name as one of the few investigators who understood Russian organised crime. It was at a conference on the subject in the early 1990s that he met Jablonski.
In a statement, his family said that they had received news of Levinson’s death from US officials and that it preceded the coronavirus outbreak. US President Donald Trump, however, has reportedly refused to accept that he is dead.
One possible explanation for the timing of the announcement is that the US Government and intermediaries are engaged in negotiations with Iran over Americans still in Iranian custody, especially given fears of their exposure to coronavirus.
For years, Levinson’s fate was a sticking point. US officials made any further prisoner negotiations with Iran contingent on a full account of his fate. Intelligence that concludes he is no longer alive potentially removes that obstacle.
Levinson is survived by his wife Christine and by their children. –