WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The White House added that assisting Washington in finding Levinson had been agreed to in the prisoner exchange deal the two countries reached earlier this year.
"Today marks the ninth year since retired FBI agent Robert Levinson disappeared during a trip to Kish Island, Iran. We continue to call upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to provide assistance in his case," the statement said.
The Obama administration said that finding the retired FBI agent remained a "top priority" of the United States and that Washington would "continue to spare no effort to bring him home."
Prior to the White House’s announcement, Washington and Tehran reached a prisoner exchange deal and agreed to free four Iranian-American prisoners, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, in exchange for seven Iranian nationals serving their sentence in US prisons.
Meanwhile, the US holds a $5 million reward for any information that could help lead to Levinson’s return.
