The US has imposed sanctions on three Iranian intelligence officers for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of former FBI agent Robert Levinson, the Treasury and State departments said in news releases on Tuesday.
The sanctions against Reza Amiri Moghadam, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia and Taqi Daneshvar of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security are the latest linked to the disappearance of the former FBI agent, who Washington believes was abducted in Iran and died in captivity.
As a result of the sanctions, any property of the men under US jurisdiction must be blocked and Americans are generally barred from dealing with them. Foreign citizens could also be blacklisted for dealing with them.
“Iran’s treatment of Mr Levinson remains a blight on Iran’s already grim record of human rights abuse,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “The Department of the Treasury will continue to work with US government partners to identify those responsible and shine a light on their abhorrent behaviour.”
Mr Levinson, who was working as a private investigator, disappeared in March 2007 after travelling to an island controlled by Iran for a meeting seeking information on alleged corruption involving former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
The three sanctioned people all played a role in Mr Levinson's abduction, detention and probable death, as well as efforts to cover up Iran's responsibility, the Treasury Department said.
“Today’s action by our partners at the Department of the Treasury demonstrates that we continue to work together to identify additional Iranian officers involved in Bob’s abduction,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Our investigation continues. We will pursue all options to hold Iran accountable. The FBI will not waver in our commitment to provide answers to the Levinson family about what happened to Bob.”
The sanctions are being imposed under an executive order signed by former president Joe Biden, which seeks to hold to account terrorist organisations, criminal groups and other "malicious actors" who take hostages for financial or political gain.
The US imposed sanctions on two other Iranian officials in December 2020, accusing them of involvement in Mr Levinson's disappearance. Since 2019, the State Department has offered a reward of up to $20 million for information leading to his location, recovery and return, and the identification of those responsible for his disappearance.
Iran has refused to admit culpability for his disappearance, but in 2020, a US judge ruled that Iran was responsible and ordered Tehran to pay damages of $1.46 billion to Mr Levinson's family.
In a statement to The National in 2023, his family said they were "still without answers" and that "those responsible for this heinous crime have still faced no consequences for their actions".
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
