April 17, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1428

WASHINGTON, April 16: The United States has pressed Iran for information about the mysterious disappearance more than a month ago of a former FBI agent during a visit to the Islamic Republic, officials said on Monday.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack indicated some frustration with the Iranians' failure to provide information on the whereabouts of Robert Levinson, a retired FBI agent who disappeared after travelling to the Gulf resort of Kish island in Iran early March.

“Over the weekend we did send another message via the Swiss to the Iranian government asking for an answer as to what they know of his whereabouts,” McCormack said.

“From all the information we have been able to gather, we believe that he is in Iran so we have gone back to the government after what we thought was a sufficient interval for them to conduct an investigation and ask them to give us an answer,” he said.

Asked if Washington was concerned Levinson may be in Iranian custody, McCormack said the US had no “solid or credible information about his whereabouts.” “To the best of our knowledge we have been able to determine that he went (to Iran) ... and we have not seen any evidence that he left,” he said.

He also played down concerns Levinson could be dead, saying, “We're looking forward to his being reunited with his family.”—AFP