US concludes ex-FBI agent is likely dead
Robert Levinson, who vanished more than a decade ago, died while in custody in Iran.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has concluded that retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished more than a decade ago, died while in the custody of Iran, his family and administration officials have said.
The circumstances and timing of Levinson’s death were unclear, but White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien said Wednesday evening that the U.S. believes Levinson “may have passed away some time ago.” Hours earlier, his family said information U.S. officials had received had led them to conclude he was dead. Neither the government nor the family described that information.
The death is believed to have occurred before the recent outbreak of the coronavirus that has gravely affected Iran and another countries, according to a statement from Levinson’s family.
The government’s acknowledgment of Levinson’s death came hours after a White House briefing in which President Donald Trump appeared to equivocate on the news, saying, “I won’t accept that he’s dead.”
U.S. officials communicated the news to Levinson’s family in a meeting in Washington in recent weeks, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private encounter. The person said the information about Levinson had come from Iran’s foreign minister.
“It is impossible to describe our pain,” the family’s statement said.
Levinson disappeared on March 9, 2007, when he was scheduled to meet a source on the Iranian island of Kish. For years, U.S. officials would say only that Levinson was working independently on a private investigation.
But a 2013 Associated Press investigation revealed that Levinson had been sent on a mission by CIA analysts who had no authority to run such an operation.
The Levinson family thanked multiple U.S. officials for their help, but also said: “Those who are responsible for what happened to Bob Levinson, including those in the U.S. government who for many years repeatedly left him behind, will ultimately receive justice for what they have done. We will spend the rest of our lives making sure of this, and the Iranian regime must know we will not be going away.”