In 1984 Ronald Reagan had declared Iran part of the “Axis of evil” and a “state sponsor of terrorism”. More than 3 decades have passed and the situation on the ground has not changed much. An old case has been brought to light by Senator Marco Rubio who is the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women's Issues. The case he is referring to is the disappearance of Ex-CIA agent Robert Levinson. Fox News reported this news.
Levinson disappears
Levinson disappeared in 2007, while on a private visit to Iran’s Kish Island. Kish is a 91.5-square-kilometre resort island in the Persian Gulf. It is part of the Bandar Lengeh County in Hormozgān. It is one of the most visited areas of Iran. Levinson probably traveled there thinking he would be safe. He was last seen getting into a taxi from the porch of Hotel Miriam. At that time Iranian TV had broadcast that Levinson is in the custody of the Iran security forces. A video did emerge in 2010 showing Levinson alive but after that nothing has been heard about him. Iranian leaders deny any knowledge of the whereabouts of the agent, but this is rejected outright by the USA. The Associated Press, which cited an unnamed U.S.
official as the source told the AP that many U.S. government officials believe that Levinson may no longer be alive.
Sen. Marco Rubio
Senator Marco Rubio who represents Florida has taken up the case of the disappearance of Levinson. He told Fox News that America must make it clear to Iran that future relations hinge on Tehran cooperating and giving information about the whereabouts of the former CIA agent.
He feels that Iran knows what happened to Levinson and is responsible for whatever happened to him
Alive or dead?
The wife of the agent feels that her husband is alive. If this is true than Levinson will be one of the longest held hostages in US history. Levinson was a father of 7 children had a two-decade association with the CIA.
He would have taken all precautions, but somebody blew his cover leading to his arrest. He was on a secret assignment to recruit an undercover agent, but the operation fell through and Levinson was taken into Iranian custody, though the leadership denies it.
Future
State department officials gave a hearing to the family of Levinson on Thursday. This was after US lawmakers headed by Sen Bill Nelson had written a letter on 11 July to Donald Trump calling on him to “re-engage” with Iran to get information about the fate of the ex-agent. Iran is an Islamic republic built on hate for America and it’s unlikely that they will cooperate to reveal anything about Levinson. The 1984 categorization of Iran by Reagan is valid even today.
