Trump must give Iran a Levinson ultimatum.
The unrest in Iran is dominating international news cycles, as demonstrations around the country continue to challenge the regime. As the protests began, President Trump tweeted, “Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice. The world is watching!”
The president’s tweets follow the recent announcement of his intentions to decertify the Iran nuclear deal, when he also pushed for Congress to establish “trigger points” that would place sanctions on Iran if it fails to meet established expectations.
Absent in these tweets and his strategy to address “the full range of Iran’s destructive actions” has been any mention of specific Americans held by the Iranian government, including my father, Robert Levinson. He was taken hostage in March 2007 while visiting Kish Island, Iran, as a private contractor. It was the day before his 59th birthday. Why this omission? The Trump administration’s Statement on American Citizens Unjustly Detained in Iran was one of the most forceful statements we have seen related to our father’s case, and we were optimistic that the change in tone would lead to swift action on our father’s behalf. It states: “President Trump urges Iran to return Robert Levinson home, who has been held for over 10 years … President Trump is prepared to impose new and serious consequences on Iran unless all unjustly imprisoned American citizens are released and returned.”
By now, my family had hoped to see increased pressure put on Iran to find my father, or at least, continued discussion of the case in every policy decision by the Trump administration regarding the Iranian regime. Neither has happened. We ask: When will the U.S. follow through on these new and serious consequences? And how will it ensure Iran will act to bring my father home?
The timing of the unrest in Iran and the president’s directive to Congress have given us a glimmer of hope. Our father’s case must be a U.S. “trigger point.” Now is both the time and the opportunity to press the Iranian regime: Send Bob Levinson home or face consequences. For years, we have implored Congress to do more to act on our father’s behalf. Despite efforts from multiple committed senators and representatives in Congress, nothing has happened. As my brother Doug has testified to a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee, we need our elected officials to “do something, do anything” to bring him home.
Across three U.S. administrations, we have heard countless excuses: Iran has never admitted having him, so our options are limited; Iran can’t find him; he’s likely dead. These excuses are as insulting as they are unacceptable. Members of our government are willing to take Iran at its word when its officials say they don’t know what happened to Bob Levinson, even though the evidence of Iran’s culpability for his captivity is so overwhelming that last year the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion finding Iran responsible for his unjust arrest and detention. Trump, himself, tweeted that the government “is watching [Iran] very closely for human rights violations.” This is the evidence of a human-rights violation. Now it’s up to us to act.
During my father’s time in captivity, he has missed 11 wedding anniversaries with my mother, the love of his life, as well as the weddings of three of his children and the births of five of his six grandchildren. My own son was born just a few months ago, the first grandchild to share my father’s last name. Over this entire time, our family has put its trust in our government to bring my father home. That trust has often been met with skepticism, avoidance and, most importantly, a failure to act by those in a position to help. Nowhere was this more evident than in January 2016 when the nuclear deal by the Obama administration was complete and Americans held captive in Iran were released — all except Bob Levinson, a man who has dedicated his entire life to serving our country.
Such an American hero deserves better. We don’t need excuses or skepticism — we need to pressure Iran and convey a real urgency for bringing him home. We must demand more of the Iranian government, and such a push requires us to expect more of our own. We must do something, anything, to bring Bob home. The world is watching.
During my father’s time in captivity, he has missed 11 wedding anniversaries ... the weddings of three of his children and the births of five of his six grandchildren.