Trump claims ex-FBI agent Levinson still in Iran

US President Donald Trump claims retired FBI agent Robert Levinson is still in Iran, asking Tehran to turn him over to Washington.

Trump made the claim on Twitter Sunday despite Tehran and even the White House itself saying in the past that Levinson had left Iran following his 2007 visit to the country.

“If Iran is able to turn over to the US kidnapped former FBI Agent Robert A. Levinson, who has been missing in Iran for 12 years, it would be a very positive step.”

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said the person in question had no judicial or criminal file in Iranian courts, adding Tehran had nevertheless opened  "a missing person" file for him.  

"On the request [of his family], Iran has pursued the case on the basis of goodwill and some humanitarian considerations, but has also announced several times that it has no information about his situation," Mousavi told reporters. 

Last year in March, the US Department of State made a similar claim, to which Iran responded by saying that it had no information about him.

"Robert Levinson had traveled to Iran at a juncture and then left our country and the Islamic Republic of Iran has no information about his fate after that," former Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said back then.

PressTV-'No Iran commitment to US over ex-FBI agent'

Iran says it has no commitment to the US to find and bring former FBI agent Robert Levinson back home.

In June, 2016, the White House itself issued a statement admitting that Levinson was no longer in Iran.

The announcement by former White House press secretary Josh Earnest marked the first time the administration had refused to point a finger at Tehran over the matter.

According to a report by the Associated Press on December 12, 2013, the former FBI agent worked for the CIA.

Levinson reportedly visited Iran’s southern Kish Island on March 9, 2007. He later went missing and his whereabouts have remained unknown ever since. There are different reports about the aim of his trip, with some saying the man, who had become a private detective, was reportedly investigating cigarette counterfeiting in the region. Others said he had been on a business trip.

Back in 2010, a video was sent to the Levinsons, reportedly showing the man demanding help for his release. Also in early 2011, some of his images were emailed to the family.

The FBI has offered a five-million-dollar reward for any information that could lead to Levinson's safe return, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing last week that the State Department's Rewards for Justice Program was offering an additional $20 million for such information.

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