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This week marks the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of former FBI agent Robert Levinson on the Iranian island of Kish. Acknowledging the anniversary Thursday, both the FBI and the White House released statements thatpledged to do more to find the missing American.

Bob went missing in Iran, FBI Director James B. Comey said. Ten years is an inhumane amount of time to ask a family to wait for word of their loved one. Our ability to reunite Bob with his family is dependent on this shared commitment and we continue to call on the Iranian government to provide assistance.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said that the Trump administration remained unwavering in its commitment to finding Levinson and getting him home. We want him back, and we will spare no effort to achieve that goal, Spicer said.

President Trump is a frequent critic of Iran and has said that he would guarantee U.S. citizens held by the country would be released.In 2015, as his electoral campaign began to gain momentum, heclaimed that Levinson would be released before he even took office, along with the then-jailed Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, former MarineAmir Hekmati and Christian pastorSaeed Abedini.

If I win the presidency, I guarantee you that those four prisoners are back in our country before I ever take office, Trump said at an event on Capitol Hill on Sept. 10, 2015. I guarantee that.

However, while the three other U.S. citizens were released in 2016, the location of Levinson remains a mystery. It is not definitively known who is holding him or whether he is alive. And the details of why he was in Iran at the time of his disappearance remain unclear.

Levinson, who turns 69 Friday, was working as a private investigator in 2007 when he disappeared. Levinson, a Florida native, had been a 28-year veteran of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the FBI, with vast experience of Russian crime networks but little experience with Iran, before retiring to work privately. Originally, the State Department said that he had been traveling to Kish, an Iranian resort island and free-trade zone, to set up an interview for a project involving a book and a documentary, when he disappeared March 9, 2007.

It was only years later that more details about Levinson's work at the time of his trip to Kish became publicly known. In 2013, the Associated Press revealed that Levinson had been working on an unapproved intelligence mission for the CIA. The private investigator had been hoping to recruit a source who could give details of alleged corruption among Iranian elites, the New York Times later reported, in an apparent bid to renew his contract with the agency.

Levinson's family received a proof-of-life video in 2010 that they released publicly the next year. The 57-second video showed an emotional and gaunt Levinson pleading for U.S. authorities to help, but offered few clues about who was holding him or why. Please help me get home, Levinson, wearing an orange jumpsuit, says in the video.

Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied any knowledge of what happened to Levinson on Kish. During interviews with U.S. outlets, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said he did not know where the American was and that he would work with the United States to find him. He is an American who has disappeared, Rouhani told CNN's Christiane Amanpour in 2013. We have no news of him.

But U.S. officials have repeatedly said they think that the Iranian government, or some part of it, is holding Levinson or has information about who is. Much of the suspicion has fallen upon Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful branch of the Iranian military that holds considerable power in the country's complicated political structure.

The FBI and CIA have been accused of being slow to react to Levinson's disappearance. The FBI eventually offered a $5 million reward for information that might lead to his safe return, while the CIA paid $2.5 million to Levinson's wife. The Levinson family was disappointed that a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, negotiated under the Obama administration, did not help Levinson's case.

Writing in The Post, Levinson's son Daniel said that the family was devastated that their father was not released after the deal was struck. Now we fear that the United States has squandered its best opportunity for leverage in ensuring my fathers safe return home, he wrote.

The family hopes that under a new president, who has been vocally critical not only about the nuclear deal but about Iran in general, their father's case might be resolved. In an interview with the Associated Press this week, Levinson's wife, Christine, said that she knew her husband was still alive. It's now time for him to be returned home to his family, she said.

We know if President Trump chooses (to be involved), he's a dealmaker. That's what he does. It's going to require negotiating with the Iranians to get him out of there, Daniel Levinson said. He's very well-suited to be able to do this. We're hopeful for that.

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Irans supreme leader thanks Trump for revealing the real face of the United States

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10 years ago, former FBI agent Bob Levinson disappeared in Iran. His family is asking Trump for answers. - Washington Post

AMN Al-Masdar News (registration)

Analysts: Iran Has Been Put 'On Notice'; Time to Show US Means Business CNSNews.com It is believed to be the first Iranian ballistic missile launch since the White House in early February declared that it was officially putting Iran on notice, following a previous ballistic missile launch which the U.S. said was in violation of the ... Defiant Iran successfully tests newly developed ballistic missileAMN Al-Masdar News (registration) Iran successfully tests radar-guided anti-ship ballistic missileIHS Jane's 360 Iran opposition unveils secret IRGC tacticsThe Hill (blog) The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com -Arutz Sheva -RT all 45 news articles »

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Analysts: Iran Has Been Put 'On Notice'; Time to Show US Means Business - CNSNews.com

New York Times

Iran's Top Leader Appears to Rebuke President as Election Nears New York Times Iran's top leader criticized the pace of national economic growth on Thursday in what appeared to be a rebuke of the president, who had forecast prosperous times after the 2015 accord that lifted international sanctions in exchange for nuclear limits. Iran's Khamenei: Economic Progress Limited Despite Lifted SanctionsVoice of America As Presidential Election Nears, Iran's Hardliners Flex Their MusclesThe Diplomat US fearful of power Iran in Middle East: JournalistPress TV STRATFOR all 26 news articles »

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Iran's Top Leader Appears to Rebuke President as Election Nears - New York Times

Benjamin Netanyahu has accused Iran of using the Syrian civil war to gain a foothold to fight Israel amid fears over Iranian troops stationed along the border with the occupied Golan Heights.

Tehran is supporting Bashar al-Assad with deployments of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), Basij militia and funding to allied militias including Hezbollah.

The IRGC are now reported to be present in Syrian-government controlled territory along the 1967 ceasefire line in the Golan Heights, which has seen months of Israeli air strikes met with rockets fired towards the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).

Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Naghdi, a commander in Irans Basij force, waspictured surveying the border, while a Shia paramilitary group has formed a Golan Liberation Brigade.

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, an Iraqi force backed by Iran, is ready to take action to liberate Golan from Israeli occupation, according to spokesman quoted byIranian state media this week.

The deployments have made the Iranian government a major power broker in the Syrian civil war, meeting with Russian and Turkish representatives at ceasefire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan.

In a meeting with Vladimir Putin on Thursday, the Israeli Prime Minister said that any truce must not allow the continued presence of Iranian forces in Syria.

Benjamin Netanyahu urges Theresa May to back fresh sanctions for Iran

We do not want to see Shia Islamic terrorism led by Iran step in to replace Sunni Islamic terrorism, Mr Netanyahu told the Russian President.

Iran continues attempts to destroy the Jewish state. They speak of this openly and write this in black and white in their newspapers.

Today, we have our own country and our army, and we can defend ourselves. But I want to say that the threat of Shia Islamic terror is directed not only against us, but against the region and the entire world.

He told reporters Iran was arming itself and its forces against Israel including from Syria territory and is, in fact, gaining a foothold to continue the fight against Israel.

After the meeting, the Israeli Prime Minister said the removal of Iranian forces from Syria were vital to prevent misunderstandings.

I made it clear that regarding Syria, while Israel is not opposed that there should be an agreement there, we strongly oppose the possibility that Iran and its proxies will be left with a military presence in Syria under such an agreement, Mr Netanyahu added.

A statement released by the Kremlin said he and Mr Putin discussed joint efforts to combat international terrorism and examined areas of bilateral cooperation.

Two years ago, Israel and Russia agreed to coordinate military actions over Syria in order to avoid accidentally trading fire but the risk of skirmishes is increasing as pro-Assad forces fight for more territory in the Golan Heights.

The region has been occupied by Israeli forces since the Six Day War in 1967 and waseffectively annexed in 1981, despite condemnation from the UN.

Despite maintaining cordial relations with Israel, Russia is a key ally of Iran in Syria as both sides continue to back the Assad regime against both opposition rebels and Isis.

The Iranian government claimed the IRGC were originally sent to Syria in an advisory capacity, but the troops have now taken a more frontline role, being found by The Independent fighting on the frontlines near Aleppo city last year.

Avi Dichter, the chair of Israel's foreign affairs and defence committee, said several attempts by Iran to move forces into the Syrian Golan Heights had been repelled last year, without giving details.

Israel says it has carried out dozens of strikes in Syria to prevent weapons smuggling to the Iranian-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, with the Russian government denying it had given permission for the operations.

IRGC Brigadier General Mohammad Ali Allahdadi was among those killed in Israelibombing, as well as several senior Hezbollah commanders.

The Syrian civil war, now in its sixth year, shows little sign of slowing with fighting breaking out between rival rebel groups who have seized swathes of territory from Isis.

The US has sent hundreds of troops into the country in preparation for an advance on the terrorist groups de-facto capital of Raqqa, risking escalation with Turkey, which classes some American-backed groups as terrorists and wants its own troops to lead the assault.

The first UN-led Syria peace talks in a year ended without a breakthrough in Geneva last week, with further meetings scheduled for later this month.

Link:
Iranian Revolutionary Guards opposite Israeli troops on 1967 ceasefire line in Golan Heights as tensions mount - The Independent

As the Trump administration prepares to implement a revised immigration ban that affects people from six Middle Eastern countries, a Longmont woman is sharing her family's immigration story in the hopes that it will add a personal dimension to the political conversation.

Maryam Moore's father, grandmother and aunt legally immigrated to the United States in the late 1970s from Tehran, Iran.

Her father studied aerospace, her aunt studied at the University of Colorado in Boulder and her grandmother started an ice cream shop in Denver.

Moore's father met her mother, an American citizen, and the rest, she said smiling, is history.

Moore said she never thought much about her Iranian heritage until President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 27 banning immigration from seven Middle Eastern countries for at least 90 days.

The original immigration ban listed Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and made no distinction between people trying to obtain a new visa and people who already hold valid visas or lawful permanent resident status.

The immigration executive order was halted by a federal judge and the federal appeals court upheld that ruling. The new immigration executive order, issued Monday and set to go into effect on March 16, removed Iraq from the list of countries and listed exemptions for people who have visas or green cards.

Critics of the revised ban told The Guardian that it's likely to alienate Iranian middle-class citizens who seek visas to the United States in order to study or visit relatives. That same group also tends to be critical of the Iranian government, The Guardian reported.

Moore said that after the original immigration order, she sat with her feelings for a few days.

"I couldn't stay silent anymore about the fact that my family immigrated to this country from one of the listed banned nations and that I owe all of my happiness and opportunity all that I hold dear to the ability that my family had to immigrate," Moore said.

Moore pulled together some of her family photos and wrote down her thoughts about her family's immigration story. Her daughter, Dani, used the iPad provided by the St. Vrain Valley School District to compile the photos and Moore's voice-over into a short video, which Moore posted on Facebook. The video has more than 1,100 views.

Moore said her hope is that the video promotes discussion about people from the six countries that doesn't just center on seeing them as the other.

"I wanted to show people that immigrants from these countries are valuable. We're families and we're people that feel so greatly blessed to have this opportunity," Moore said. "It's easy to group people or marginalize people and sometimes it's more convenient that way, but these issues are personal and they mean a lot."

Moore added that she understands that national security is a large part of the conversation around the immigration ban and she understands the importance of keeping the United States safe.

"I wholeheartedly agree that that's important. My message is specific that this is really personal for me. This is my family and my blood. We're not just an obscure people who want to do harm to anyone, let alone this great country," Moore said.

Moore said the conversation has been on her mind at work. She has taught fitness classes at the YMCA in Longmont for 10 years. Moore said that many of her most loyal fitness class attendees are Spanish-speaking immigrants.

"The most faithful group I have by far is the immigrant population. Many of my classes are taught with hand signals and nonverbal communication because we simply just have a language barrier," Moore said. "But it doesn't bother us much."

Moore said she wanted to create something around immigration that caused people to stop and listen to another perspective.

"This struck me in the heart because I knew that if this was in place in 1977, then my family wouldn't have come and I wouldn't exist and nothing that I love and value would have been possible," Moore said.

Karen Antonacci: 303-684-5226, antonaccik@times-call.com or twitter.com/ktonacci

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Longmont woman shares story of family's immigration from Iran - Longmont Times-Call