Unconfirmed reports from Iran say that the Iranian government has freed former FBI agent Robert Levinson and will deport him to either Frankfurt or Dubai today. Levinson had gone to Iran to conduct a private investigation into the murder of a former Iranian official in Washington:
Friends of the former FBI agent believed to be in custody in Iran, Robert Levinson, say he could be released as early as today based on what they describe as two unconfirmed reports from Tehran.
“We have received a call that he is free, and we have people at airports in Frankfurt and Dubai where we have been told he could show up,” one of Levinson’s friends told The Blotter on ABCNews.com.
U.S. officials could not confirm the report, but FBI spokesman John Miller said, “We are hearing the same thing, but we have no way to judge the credibility of that information.”
Levinson disappeared almost two months ago after traveling to the Iranian island of Kish to meet with an American fugitive accused of murdering a former Iranian official in suburban Washington in 1980.
The release is apparently timed to coincide with the meeting of foreign ministers regarding the status of Iraq. Both the Iranian FM and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will attend the meeting, and the regional governments have pressured both countries to begin a dialogue at the summit. Levinson’s release seems aimed at smoothing the road to talks between the US and Iran.
Nothing is certain yet, but people are standing by in the airports of both cities to watch for Levinson.
Iran in the rear view mirror
Although there’s still no official confirmation from the State Department, Joe Trento reports that Bob Levinson is now safely out of Iran:Usually reliable Iranian sources say that detained American, Robert Levinson, was turned over to American official…