Family grieves for dad missing 11 years in Iran
Former FBI agents mark milestone for Springs man
After 11 years, Bob Levinson, a Coral Springs resident and retired FBI agent, still isn’t home.
Pleas to the U.S. and Iranian governments haven’t worked. Requests to religious leaders and companies that do business with Iran haven’t yielded results.
If he’s alive, Levinson is the longest-held hostage in American history.
The Fort Lauderdale chapter of the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI marked the unfortunate milestone in Tamarac on Thursday, just as hundreds of other chapters across the country will do during March.
Iranian authorities are believed to have detained Levinson at his hotel at Kish Island, Iran, on March 9, 2007. He was working for the CIA to recruit a fugitive American-born assassin as an intelligence source inside Iran.
It’s been years since the family received proof that Levinson is alive. A videotape was released in November 2010, and four photographs were received in April 2011.
“The Iranians have not been very cooperative,” said his wife, Christine Levinson. “We need to keep pressure on” Iran so the Iranians “will tell us what they know about Bob,” she said. “We believe they have the answer.”
Congress has tried to put pressure on Iran, which denies involvement.
In January, U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio said they are sponsoring legislation to impose sanctions against people involved in taking Americans hostage and oppressing the Iranian people.
Nelson’s office said Thursday the Iran