US blames Iran in ex-FBI agent’s death
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration for the first time Monday formally blamed Iran for the presumed death of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, publicly identifying two Iranian intelligence officers believed responsible for his abduction and imposing sanctions against them.
Levinson disappeared in Iran under mysterious circumstances more than a decade ago, and though U.S. diplomats and investigators have long said they thought he was taken by Iranian government agents, Monday’s announcement in the final weeks of the Trump administration was the most definitive assignment of blame to date.
Besides blaming two high-ranking intelligence officers by name, U.S. officials also said the Iranian regime sanctioned the plot that led to Levinson’s abduction and lied for years about its involvement in his disappearance through disinformation campaigns aimed at deflecting responsibility and covering up the government’s role.
“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. “The United States will always prioritize the safety and security of the American people and will continue to aggressively pursue those who played a role in Mr. Levinson’s detention and probable death.”
The two Iranian intelligence officers, identified as Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, are alleged to have been involved in his abduction. Under sanctions announced Monday, any property or assets that they hold in the United States would be blocked.
Though it’s unlikely that they have bank accounts in the U.S., the sanctions could also limit their movements or financial dealing outside of Iran. The men have met with intelligence officials from other countries and also led delegations, U.S. officials say.
There was no immediate reaction in Iranian state media Monday night to the announcement.
In a statement, the Levinson family thanked Trump administration officials and vowed to hold accountable anyone responsible for his death.
“Robert Levinson will never come home to his family alive because of the cruel, cynical and inhumane actions of the Iranian authorities,” the family said. “Because of these men and others like them, our wonderful husband, father and grandfather died alone, thousands of miles from everyone he loved. This is just one step in a long road toward achieving justice for him, but it is an important one.”
A federal judge has rejected an emergency request from the Trump administration that would stop it from being immediately forced to release documents showing how the 2020 census numbers have been crunched in the weeks since the U.S. head count ended in October.
U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said in her ruling late Sunday that “time is of the essence” in dismissing the claims of government attorneys who said they have no way of meeting her court- ordered deadline without releasing all 88,000 documents a search has produced, with no time to review and redact confidential information.
“Defendants’ problem is of entirely their own
Census documents:
making,” said the judge in San Jose, California.
The judge, however, gave the government attorneys some breathing room by allowing them to present documents they think are confidential before a panel of magistrate judges, who will rule over the next week on whether they can be released.
Early in- person voting began Monday in the runoff elections for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats, with lines reported to be shorter than in the first days of early voting for the general election last month.
More than half of the record 5 million votes in the Nov. 3 general election were cast during its three-week early voting period. Early in-person voting could be even more important in the Jan. 5 runoffs because of the short period for voters to request and return ballots by mail.
The two races in which
Voting in Georgia:
Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff try to oust Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively, will decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.
The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum said Monday that the Trump administration has removed Sudan from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, a move that could help the African country get international loans to revive its battered economy and end its pariah status.
According to a Facebook post by the embassy, Sudan’s removal was effective as of Monday.
A notification to that effect, signed by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, would be published in the Federal Register, it said, adding that the 45- day congressional notification period has lapsed.
“This achievement comes with numerous opportunities for Sudan’s develop
Sudan off terror list:
ment,” tweeted Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, adding that his country “officially” rejoined the international community as a “peaceful nation supporting global stability” after nearly three decades of isolation.
London l ockdown: London and its surrounding areas will be placed under Britain’s highest level of coronavirus restrictions beginning Wednesday as infections rise rapidly in the capital, the health secretary said Monday, adding that a new variant of the virus may be to blame for the spread.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government must take swift action after seeing “very sharp, exponential rises” in Greater London and nearby Kent and Essex. He said in some areas cases are doubling every seven days.
The surge of COVID-19 cases in southern England may be associated with a new variant of coronavirus,
Hancock told lawmakers. He said officials are assessing the new strand, but stressed there was nothing to suggest it was more likely to cause serious disease, or that it wouldn’t respond to a vaccine.
Indian farmers strike:
Tens of thousands of protesting Indian farmers called for a national farmers strike Monday, the second in a week, to press for the quashing of three new laws on agricultural reform that they say will drive down crop prices and devastate their earnings.
The farmers are camping along at least five major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi and have said they won’t leave until the government rolls back what they call the “black laws.”
They have blockaded highways leading to the capital for three weeks, and several rounds of talks with the government have failed to produce any breakthroughs.