March 25 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury and State departments sanctioned three Iranian intelligence officers accused of being involved in the abduction, detention and likely death of former FBI special agent Robert A. Levinson.
The three sanctioned Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security officers are Reza Amiri Moghadam, Gholamhossein Mohammadnia and Taqi Daneshvar, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced Tuesday in a news release.
The three "all played a role in Mr. Levinson's abduction, probable death and Iran's efforts to cover up or obfuscate their responsibility," according to the Treasury Department.
"Iran's treatment of Mr. Levinson remains a blight on Iran's already grim record of human rights abuse," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
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"The Department of the Treasury will continue to work with U.S. government partners to identify those responsible and shine a light on their abhorrent behavior," Bessent said.
Levinson was a retired FBI agent who traveled to Kish Island, Iran, as a private investigator on March 8, 2007, and disappeared a day later, according to the FBI.
He has been seen in videos and photographs released by his captors years after his disappearance but now is thought to be dead.
"Today's action by our partners at the Department of the Treasury demonstrates that we continue to work together to identify additional Iranian officers involved in Bob's abduction," FBI Director Kash Patel said.
The three new sanctions are in addition to 2020 sanctions announced against Iranian MOIS officers Mohammed Baseri and Ahmad Khazai, the State Department said in a news release on Tuesday.
"MOIS has a history of wrongfully detaining U.S. nationals and has been designated across various sanctions programs," according to the State Department.
The State Department in November 2019 offered a $20 million reward for information leading to the location, recovery and return of Levinson and the identities of those responsible for his disappearance.
Mohammadnia is a former senior MOIS deputy who became Iran's ambassador to Albania in 2016 before Albanian officials expelled him in December2018 for harming that nation's national security.
He also tried to shift blame for Levinson's disappearance and likely death away from the Iranian government to a terrorist group in Pakistan's Baluchistan region.
Moghadam aka Ahmad Amirinia is the current Iranian ambassador to Pakistan and formerly led the MOIS operations unit.
He held a "senior role" in Levinson's disappearance and obfuscated the truth about his abduction, according to the Treasury Department.
Daneshvar is a high-ranking MOIS officer involved in counterespionage activities and was involved in Levinson's abduction and likely death, the Treasury Department says.
Tuesday's sanctions are in accordance with President Donald Trump's Executive Order 14078, which implements the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.
The sanctions against the three men means all property and interests each has in property and assets that are in the United States or are possessed or controlled by U.S. citizens are blocked and must be reported to the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
