Robert Levinson, a former FBI special agent who disappeared while traveling on Iran’s Kush Island in 2007, has “died while in Iranian custody,” his family announced Wednesday.
“We recently received information from U.S. officials that has led both them and us to conclude that our wonderful husband and father died while in Iranian custody,” his widow, Christine Levinson, said in a statement signed by other members of his family. “We don’t know when or how he died, only that it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
President Trump at the daily White House briefing on the coronavirus Wednesday evening called Levinson “a great gentleman” who had “a great family.” But he said he was not reconciled to the death.
“I don’t accept that he’s dead,” Trump said. “It’s not looking great. They haven’t told us that he’s dead, but a lot of people think that’s the case. I feel badly about it.”
Levinson’s death comes just days after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a public call for Iran to “honor the commitment it made to work with the United States” for his return. Iranian officials gave the family reason to believe that he was alive in November, when they notified the United Nations that Levinson had “an ongoing case” in their judicial system.
“It is impossible to describe our pain,” his family wrote. “If not for the cruel, heartless actions of the Iranian regime, Robert Levinson would be alive and home with us today … They kidnapped a foreign citizen and denied him any basic human rights, and his blood is on their hands.”
The former FBI agent, who fell into the regime’s hands while working as a CIA contractor, became the longest-held hostage in American history in 2013.
Christine Levinson took care to “extend our deep appreciation to President Trump and the members of his administration … who have done all they could to make our family whole again,” despite her previous worries that the president was ignorant of the case. Yet, she included a stinging rebuke for officials whom she believes neglected Levinson’s detention when he might still have been rescued.
“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,” the announcement said.
That’s a reference to President Barack Obama’s administration, which did not secure Levinson’s release despite years of negotiating with Tehran in the lead-up to the implementation of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Also, CIA officials apologized to the Levinson family in 2008 after reportedly failing to realize that a contractor had gone missing in Iran.
Christine Levinson, who said she felt “betrayed” by the Obama administration in 2016, told lawmakers last year that anonymous administration officials who speculated that he might be dead or outside Iran “severely undercut” efforts to secure his release.
“The U.S. government gave Iran an excuse to not send Bob home,” she told a House panel.
The Levinson family emphasized that the pursuit of his release was “a personal mission for hundreds of agents and others who worked on this case over the years.
“He will always be one of the FBI’s own,” the family said. “He was an American hero — a true patriot, and his companionship and kindness knew no bounds. We will miss his warmth, humor, and wisdom, but, most of all, we will miss the deep and unconditional love he had for each one of us. He will never be forgotten — we will make sure of it.”
