The Trump administration on Monday sanctioned two Iranian intelligence officers, saying they were involved in the abduction, detention and likely death of Robert Levinson, an American who disappeared in 2007.
The Treasury Department is sanctioning two officials in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, Mohammad Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, “for the direct involvement in the abduction, detention and probable death of Robert Levinson,” a senior government official told reporters Monday.
The official said that the ongoing U.S. government investigation into Levinson’s kidnapping determined that senior Iranian officials “sanctioned” Levinson’s abduction and detention and carried out a disinformation campaign to “obfuscate their responsibility.”
Levinson, the longest-held hostage in U.S. history, disappeared nearly 14 years ago on Kish Island, an island off the coast of Iran. His family said in March that they concluded that Levinson had died while in Iranian custody based on information received from U.S. officials. Iran has long denied having any knowledge of Levinson’s whereabouts.
Read more at The Hill.
{Matzav.com}
