As the U.S.-Iran war raged this week, the State Department and FBI publicly acknowledged for the first time that the longest-held American hostage in U.S. history died in Iranian custody.
The hostage, retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, has been missing since March 7, 2007, when he disappeared on the Iranian island of Kish. This year marked 19 years since his disappearance, after which the U.S. government believes he remained in Iranian custody.
Levinson, who worked for six years at the Drug Enforcement Administration and a further 22 years at the FBI, went missing while he was on a mission for the Central Intelligence Agency in the Middle East.
“For nearly my entire career, we have been searching for Bob,” FBI Deputy Director Christopher Raia said Monday at a flag-raising ceremony for U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day.
“As most of you know, Bob spent nearly three decades in service to our nation, including 22 years as an FBI special agent. Quite simply, he was one of ours. Our evidence suggests that Bob died in captivity in Iran. And he is the longest held American hostage in U.S. history.”
