WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday repeated its
call for Tehran to help three Americans Robert Levinson, Amir Hekmati and
Saeed Abedini return to their families after lengthy detentions in Iran.
The State Department said in a statement that the US is
“respectfully” requesting the assistance from Iran’s new president, Hasan
Rouhani. Previous requests made to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad used
slightly harsher rhetoric.
“President Rouhani has shared in his speeches and interviews
over the past few months his hope and vision to improve the Government of the
Islamic Republic of Iran’s relationship with the world,” the statement said in
the latest plea for the release of the three.
Levinson, a husband and father of seven who is Jewish, went
missing from Kish Island in Iran in March 2007. The former FBI agent was
working as a private investigator at the time.
“His family has endured with courage and quiet dignity the
pain of spending so many important family milestones without him there,” the
statement said.
“We call again on the government of the Islamic Republic of
Iran to uphold its offer to help find Mr. Levinson and return him safely to his
family.”
The State Department said Thursday marks the two-year
anniversary of the detention of Hekmati, a former US Marine who has been held
in Iran since August 2011 on what the US claims are false espionage charges.
Abedini has been detained since September 2012. He was
sentenced to eight years in prison on charges related to his religious beliefs,
and reportedly has suffered physical abuse in Iranian detention.
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