Son Of Hostage In Iran Says Time Is Right To Push For Release
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CORAL SPRINGS (CBSMiami) -- The time is right to push for the release of Coral Springs resident and former FBI agent Robert Levinson, his son Dan told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
That's because senior government officials from both countries are seated at the negotiating table trying to hammer out a deal over Iran's nuclear program.
"We need, in fact, we implore negotiators to take a more aggressive approach than merely asking for Iran's help in locating him," Levinson testified.
Dan Levinson sat with family members of three other Americans whose loved ones are being held in Iran. Levinson said he fears that if the nuclear deal falls apart with Iran, the families will lose whatever leverage they have.
"If the talks fail and there is no deal, we could lose the engagement and the productive talks we're having right now and we could be back to square one," Levinson said.
Click here to watch Carey Codd's report.
Additionally, Levinson said that while the direct negotiators may not have the knowledge of where his father is, he believes others in the Iranian power structure do.
"We believe that if the Iranian government had the will and motivation to locate my father and send him home, they most certainly could," he said.
Robert Levinson disappeared in 2007 in Iran while working as a private investigator and as a consultant for the CIA.
"The U.S. has a moral obligation to bring him home," Levinson told the committee.
In 2010, the family received video and pictures of Levinson detained and not a word since. Dan Levinson said this beloved husband, father and grandfather has missed more family milestones than they can count in the 3,007 days since he disappeared.
"My father is the longest held hostage in American history," he said.
As the clock ticks down on a possible deal between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear capability, Levinson sees a window of opportunity for his father to be released.
"There's so much engagement going on right now between our two governments that it's the right time to really ramp up the pressure on both sides to get my dad home," Levinson told Codd.
There is a $5 million reward for information that leads to Bob Levinson's safe return.
Levinson said he plans to spend a few more days in Washington meeting with government leaders to press the issue about making his father's release a priority.
He and his family will be watching the nuclear negotiations with Iran very closely in the next few weeks.
