Wife of former FBI man held by Iran for 12 years criticises US failures to negotiate his release

The wife of the longest-held US prisoner in Iran criticised the failure of successive administrations to secure the release of her husband.

As US President Donald Trump claimed responsibility on Thursday for a string of hostage releases, Christine Levinson said that her husband had been secretly held for 12 years without any repercussions for Iran.

“I hold the Iranian government responsible, but I believe the US government is at fault as well,” Mrs Levinson said.

“Right now, our governments are not talking – they need to come to the table for Bob and finally resolve this.”

Bob Levinson, a former FBI agent who turns 71 this weekend, went missing in 2007 on Iran’s Kish island where he was investigating a case of cigarette smuggling. His family has had no direct contact with him since that date.

Mrs Levinson’s comments come as the UK government announced further diplomatic moves to put greater pressure on Iran over the three years of detention of British dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was held after visiting her family in Iran.

Iran has never publicly admitted to holding Mr Levinson but the UN’s human rights council released an opinion in 2016 that held Iran responsible for his detention.

His family learnt he was being held only after the release of a hostage video and photos that were received from unknown captors. His family has claimed in court papers that Iran sought to tie his release to the return of a Revolutionary Guard general who defected to the West. The FBI has offered a $5 million (Dh18.3m) reward for his return.

Mrs Levinson, with other relatives, was giving evidence on Thursday at a hearing before the Committee on the Status of American Hostages in Iran. Legislators were preparing to introduce new laws that would include extra powers to sanction states if they hold people on political grounds.

She said the family had received no meaningful assistance from the Iranian government other than allowing them to go to Kish island to retrace his steps. “Iran has been allowed to feign ignorance over and over again – with absolutely no repercussions from the US,” she said.

She said that in the first years, major US government bodies were not talking to each other and inaccurate statements by officials – questioning whether Mr Levinson was alive or in Iran – had been thrown “back in our faces” by Iranian officials.

“The Iranians still regularly point to a statement made in error by the White House three years ago that Bob is not in Iran.

“That was wrong, but the US government gave Iran an excuse to not send Bob home.

“This has not been the fault of a single person or administration in our government but instead has become a systemic failure of this government’s ability to uphold our nation’s values.

“After three very different US presidential administrations, we are no closer to bringing Bob home than we were when we started.”

Mrs Levinson’s comments came after Mr Trump said his administration had secured freedom for 20 US captives since his election as president and that other negotiations were continuing.

Donald Trump said his administration had secured the freedom of 20 US captives since his election as president