From Nasser Karimi of the Associated Press, dated June 10th:

In an interview with The Associated Press this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the detentions of the Iranian-Americans were unwarranted but would not stop the United States from trying to engage Iran on other matters, including its disputed nuclear program and alleged support of insurgents in Iraq.

“We take seriously the holding of any American anywhere in the world where they are being wrongly held and where they are being accused of things that clearly are untrue,” Rice said. “It just shows again what kind of regime this is.”

– snip –

The U.S. also has expressed concern about Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who the United States says has been missing since March after traveling to an Iranian resort island on private business.

[Mohammad Ali]  Hosseini [the spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry]  reiterated Sunday that Iran has no information about Levinson.

Via Washington Post. 

Iran, according to CNN, has now arrested four Iranian-Americans on questionable charges.

Christine Levinson, according to CNN (this graf appears about halfway down the page), “recently traveled to Washington to meet with lawmakers and diplomats who are working on his case.”

Bobby has been missing since March 8th.

The Associated Press, in a report dated May 4, 8:22 P.M. from Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt, at the end of a multinational conference about Iraq, that Iranian Foreign Minister

Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters at the end of an international conference on Iraq held in Egypt that the Iranian investigation on Robert Levinson, which has been going on for over a month, would continue.

Mottaki also said that “Iran has asked for more details about the missing American.” 

Rodger Morrow reports that Bobby Levinson has been released to American officials in Iraqi Kurdistan.  We’ll try to update later with references to Morrow’s sources.

Our thanks again to Morrow for being ahead of the ‘sphere on this story.

We won’t actually be entirely relieved until we hear direct confirmation that he’s back with his family, friends and admirers -  who are sufficiently numerous to populate a medium-sized island.

Robert Levinson, an American who is missing and last seen on Kish, an  Iranian Island, is still missing. Apparently held by Iranian authorities.

Releasing him immediately would, of course, be the right thing to do, and we hope the Iranian authorities reach that conclusion sooner rather than later. It would go some distance in demonstrating Iran’s ability to conduct itself in a way that becomes a great civilization.

We’re reminded of Shakespeare’s admonition in war that soldiers behave with restraint towards civilians:

we give express charge, that in our marches through the

country, there be nothing compelled from the
villages, nothing taken but paid for, none of the
French upbraided or abused in disdainful language;

for when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the
gentler gamester is the soonest winner.

Henry V,  Act 3, Scene 6

Thanks to Rodger Morrow for keeping on this story.

Robin Wright’s Washington Post April 4 piece here.

It’s our fervent hope that Bobby Levinson is released immediately, and that in the meantime, he knows that he’s in the thoughts of many good people. And me, too.

– JS