Iran: Missing ex-FBI agent has no criminal case in any court

Iran’s foreign ministry reportedly said Sunday that an ex-FBI agent who has been missing since 2007 has no criminal case pending in any court in the nation, and that his whereabouts are still unknown.  

Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi told reporters that an open case within the Revolutionary Court concerning Robert Levinson “was a missing person” filing, not a prosecution against the agent, according to The Associated Press, which reported on Saturday that a case existed after retrieving a filing Iran made to the United Nations.

{mosads}Mousavi told reporters on Sunday that Levinson “has no judicial or criminal case in any Islamic Republic of Iran court whatsoever,” the news service noted.

“It is normal that a case is opened like it’s done for any missing people anywhere in Iran,” it added.

Levinson went missing from Iran’s Kish Islands while on an unauthorized CIA mission, according to the AP. The U.S. is offering $25 million for information on what happened to him.

The Revolutionary Court is traditionally where Iran manages cases involving espionage, smuggling, blasphemy and attempts to overthrow the government, the AP noted, adding that Tehran has previously convicted Western-aligned prisoners in the past to use them for negotiations. 

The last photos of Levinson appeared in 2010 and 2011, showing him wearing an orange jumpsuit, according to the news service. 

Levinson’s family is now suing Iran in U.S. federal court, claiming the government captured him. 

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have increased after President Trump withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions against the country.