The wife of a former FBI agent who vanished in Iran in 2007 expressed bitter frustration Thursday about efforts to get her husband back home.
Christine Levinson, of Coral Springs, told a House panel that she holds Iran responsible for the disappearance of her husband, Robert, but she also said three American administrations have failed to press the Tehran government hard enough for his return.
“Time and time again, Bob has been left behind, deprioritized, or seemingly forgotten,” she said at a House hearing on the status of Americans detained in Iran.
Robert Levinson vanished while in Iran on an unauthorized CIA mission. Christine Levinson said she believes her husband is alive and that the U.S. should press Iran harder for answers. She praised the work of “some dedicated people from various agencies” but said others in the government have not communicated with each other regarding his case, or have questioned whether he is alive and have undercut efforts to secure his release.
“My husband served this country tirelessly for decades,” she said. “He deserves better from all of us and from our government. He deserves our endless pursuit to bring him home, to fight day and night and leave no stone unturned.”
Christine Levinson testified along with Babak Namazi, whose Iranian-American father and brother, Baquer and Siamak Namazi, are both serving 10-year sentences on espionage charges. Omar Zakka also told lawmaker about his father, Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese-born U.S. permanent resident who was detained after he visited Iran in 2015 to attend a conference.
Babak Namazi said that more than two years after President Donald Trump took office, “it seems that we are not any closer in getting my family and other hostages home.” He said time is running out for his 82-year-old father. The elder Namazi’s health is rapidly deteriorating and needs to leave Iran for medical attention, the son said.