By Carol Morelo, Washington Post
The Trump administration imposed sanctions Monday on two Iranian intelligence officials it holds responsible for the abduction, detention and probable death of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared in Iran almost 14 years ago.
Senior U.S. officials provided no evidence for their claims, so as not to compromise intelligence sources. The two officials designated are high-ranking officers in the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the Iranian equivalent of the CIA.
The U.S. officials said the decision to publicly assign blame in Levinson’s disappearance now, in the final weeks of President Trump’s time in office, was related to new information and the lengthy process of getting government lawyers to approve the decision.
But the timing also appears to be an attempt to narrow the parameters of any potential negotiations if President-elect Joe Biden seeks to rejoin the nuclear agreement with Iran that Trump abandoned in 2018. At least three Americans are currently detained in Iran.
[Biden has vowed to quickly restore the Iran nuclear deal, but that may be easier said than done]
“There should be no agreement negotiated with Iran ever again that doesn’t free Americans who are unjustly detained in that country,” said one of the senior U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of confidentiality in a briefing call with reporters. “We all expect negotiations next year. That negotiation must include the return home of all the Americans unjustly detained in that country.”
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