III 

Calendar No. 355 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 85 

Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill repeated promises of assistance 

in the case of Robert Levinson, the longest held United States civilian 

in our Nation’s history. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 9, 2017 

Mr. NELSON (for himself and Mr. RUBIO) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MARCH 20, 2018 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic] 

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill repeated promises of assistance in the case of Robert Levinson, the 

longest held United States civilian in our Nation’s history. 

Whereas United States citizen Robert Levinson is a retired 

agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a 

resident of Coral Springs, Florida, the husband of Christine Levinson, father of their seven children, and grandfather of their six grandchildren; 


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•SRES 85 RS 

Whereas Robert Levinson traveled from Dubai, United Arab 

Emirates, to Kish Island, Iran, on March 8, 2007; 

Whereas, after traveling to Kish Island and checking into the 

Hotel Maryam, Robert Levinson disappeared on March 9, 

2007; 

Whereas, in December 2007, Robert Levinson’s wife, Christine, traveled to Kish Island to retrace Mr. Levinson’s 

steps and met with officials of the Government of Iran 

who pledged to help in the investigation; 

Whereas for 10 years, the United States Government has 

continually pressed the Government of Iran to provide 

any information on the whereabouts of Robert Levinson 

and to help ensure his prompt and safe return to his 

family; 

Whereas officials of the Government of Iran promised their 

continued assistance to the relatives of Robert Levinson 

during the visit of the family to the Islamic Republic of 

Iran in December 2007; 

Whereas, in November 2010, the Levinson family received a 

video of Mr. Levinson in captivity, representing the first 

proof of life since his disappearance and providing some 

initial indications that he was being held somewhere in 

southwest Asia; 

Whereas, in April 2011, the Levinson family received a series 

of pictures of Mr. Levinson, which provided further indications that he was being held somewhere in southwest 

Asia; 

Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated on August 28, 

2013, ‘‘The United States respectfully asks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to work cooperaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Mar 20, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR85.RS SR85

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•SRES 85 RS 

tively with us in our efforts to help U.S. citizen Robert 

Levinson.’’; 

Whereas, on September 28, 2013, during the first direct 

phone conversation between the heads of governments of 

the United States and Iran since 1979, President Barack 

Obama raised the case of Robert Levinson to President 

of Iran Hassan Rouhani and urged the President of Iran 

to help locate Mr. Levinson and reunite him with his 

family; 

Whereas, on August 29, 2014, Secretary of State Kerry 

again stated that the United States ‘‘respectfully 

request[s] the Government of the Islamic Republic of 

Iran work cooperatively with us to find Mr. Levinson and 

bring him home’’; 

Whereas, on January 16, 2016, the Government of Iran released five United States citizens detained in Iran; 

Whereas, on January 17, 2016, President Obama stated that 

‘‘even as we rejoice in the safe return of others, we will 

never forget about Bob,’’ referring to Robert Levinson, 

and that ‘‘each and every day but especially today our 

hearts are with the Levinson family and we will never 

rest until their family is whole again’’; 

Whereas, on January 19, 2016, White House Press Secretary 

Josh Earnest stated that the United States Government 

had ‘‘secured a commitment from the Iranians to use the 

channel that has now been opened to secure the release 

of those individuals that we know were being held by Iran 

. . . to try and gather information about Mr. Levinson’s 

possible whereabouts’’; 

Whereas the Government of Iran’s most recent commitment 

to assist in and the diplomatic channel dedicated to locatVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:00 Mar 20, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR85.RS SR85

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•SRES 85 RS 

ing and returning Bob Levinson have not yielded any 

meaningful results; 

Whereas, on November 23, 2016, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) issued 

Opinion No. 50/2016, concerning Robert Levinson in 

which the UNWGAD found Iran responsible for the arbitrary detention of Mr. Levinson; 

Whereas, on November 26, 2013, Mr. Levinson became the 

longest held United States civilian in our Nation’s history; and 

Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to 

offer a $5,000,000 reward for information leading to Mr. 

Levinson’s safe return: Now, therefore, be it 

Whereas United States citizen Robert Levinson is a retired 

agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a resident of Coral Springs, Florida, the husband of Christine 

Levinson, father of their seven children, and grandfather 

of their six grandchildren; 

Whereas Robert Levinson traveled from Dubai, United Arab 

Emirates, to Kish Island, Iran, on March 8, 2007; 

Whereas, after traveling to Kish Island and checking into the 

Hotel Maryam, Robert Levinson disappeared on March 9, 

2007; 

Whereas, in December 2007, Robert Levinson’s wife, Christine, 

traveled to Kish Island to retrace Mr. Levinson’s steps and 

met with officials of the Government of Iran who pledged 

to help in the investigation; 

Whereas for 10 years, the United States Government has continually pressed the Government of Iran to provide any 

information on the whereabouts of Robert Levinson and to 

help ensure his prompt and safe return to his family; 


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•SRES 85 RS 

Whereas officials of the Government of Iran promised their 

continued assistance to the relatives of Robert Levinson 

during the visit of the family to the Islamic Republic of 

Iran in December 2007; 

Whereas, in November 2010, the Levinson family received a 

video of Mr. Levinson in captivity, representing the first 

proof of life since his disappearance and providing some 

initial indications that he was being held somewhere in 

southwest Asia; 

Whereas, in April 2011, the Levinson family received a series 

of pictures of Mr. Levinson, which provided further indications that he was being held somewhere in southwest Asia; 

Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry stated on August 28, 

2013, ‘‘The United States respectfully asks the Government 

of the Islamic Republic of Iran to work cooperatively with 

us in our efforts to help U.S. citizen Robert Levinson.’’; 

Whereas, on September 28, 2013, during the first direct phone 

conversation between the heads of governments of the 

United States and Iran since 1979, President Barack 

Obama raised the case of Robert Levinson to President of 

Iran Hassan Rouhani and urged the President of Iran to 

help locate Mr. Levinson and reunite him with his family; 

Whereas, on August 29, 2014, Secretary of State Kerry again 

stated that the United States ‘‘respectfully request[s] the 

Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran work cooperatively with us to find Mr. Levinson and bring him home’’; 

Whereas, on January 16, 2016, the Government of Iran released five United States citizens detained in Iran; 

Whereas, on January 17, 2016, President Obama stated that 

‘‘even as we rejoice in the safe return of others, we will 

never forget about Bob,’’ referring to Robert Levinson, and 


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•SRES 85 RS 

that ‘‘each and every day but especially today our hearts 

are with the Levinson family and we will never rest until 

their family is whole again’’; 

Whereas, on January 19, 2016, White House Press Secretary 

Josh Earnest stated that the United States Government 

had ‘‘secured a commitment from the Iranians to use the 

channel that has now been opened to secure the release of 

those individuals that we know were being held by Iran ... 

to try and gather information about Mr. Levinson’s possible whereabouts’’; 

Whereas the Government of Iran’s most recent commitment to 

assist in locating and returning Bob Levinson has not 

yielded any meaningful results; 

Whereas, on November 23, 2016, the United Nations Working 

Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) adopted Opinion No. 50/2016, concerning Robert Levinson in which the 

UNWGAD found Iran responsible for the arbitrary detention of Mr. Levinson; 

Whereas, on November 26, 2013, Mr. Levinson became the longest held United States civilian in our Nation’s history; 

and 

Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to offer 

up to a $5,000,000 reward for information leading to Mr. 

Levinson’s safe return: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes that March 9, 2017, marks 

3 marked 10 years since the disappearance of Robert 

4 Levinson from Kish Island, Iran; 


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•SRES 85 RS 

1 (2) recognizes that Robert Levinson is the long2 est held United States civilian in our Nation’s his3 tory; 

4 (3) notes that repeated pledges by officials of 

5 the Government of Iran to provide their Govern6 ment’s assistance in the case of Robert Levinson 

7 have not led to any meaningful progress in locating 

8 or returning Robert Levinson; 

9 (4) urges the Government of Iran to take mean10 ingful steps towards fulfilling its repeated promises 

11 to assist in locating and returning Robert Levinson, 

12 including immediately providing all available infor13 mation from all entities of the Government of Iran 

14 regarding the disappearance of Robert Levinson to 

15 the United States Government; 

16 (5) urges the President and the allies of the 

17 United States to continue to press the Government 

18 of Iran at every opportunity to locate and return 

19 Robert Levinson, notwithstanding ongoing and seri20 ous disagreements the United States Government 

21 has with the Government of Iran on a broad array 

22 of issues, including Iran’s ballistic missile program, 

23 sponsorship of international terrorism, and human 

24 rights abuses; 


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1 (6) notes that in addition to these other serious 

2 issues, further delay in locating and returning Rob3 ert Levinson remains a significant obstacle to im4 proving United States-Iran relations; and 

5 (7) expresses sympathy to the family of Robert 

6 Levinson for their anguish and expresses hope that 

7 their ordeal can be brought to an end in the near 

8 future. 


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Calendar No. 355 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 85 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Government of Iran to fulfill reian in our Nation’s history. ert Levinson, the longest held United States civil- peated promises of assistance in the case of RobMARCH 20, 2018 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 


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