IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 218 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 12, 2019 

Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Ms. FRANKEL, Mr. 

WALTZ, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. CONNOLLY) submitted the 

following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

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, 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; 


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•HRES 218 IH 

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

Levinson’’; 


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•HRES 218 IH 

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 locating and returning Bob Levinson have not yielded any 

meaningful results; 


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•HRES 218 IH 

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 April 25, 2017, the Department of State issued 

a statement noting that ‘‘On the sidelines of the April 25 

meeting in Vienna of the Joint Commission overseeing 

implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the U.S. delegation raised with the Iranian delegation its serious concerns regarding the cases of U.S. citizens detained and missing in Iran, and called on Iran to 

immediately release these U.S. citizens so they can be reunited with their families’’; 

Whereas, on March 9, 2018, Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert stated, ‘‘Iran committed to cooperating with the United States to assist us in bringing 

Robert Levinson home and we call on Iran to fulfill this 

commitment’’; 

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

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

Whereas March 9, 2019, marks 12 years since the disappearance of Robert Levinson from Kish Island, Iran; 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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 


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•HRES 218 IH 

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

4 (2) 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 (3) 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 by immediately providing all available in13 formation from all entities of the Government of 

14 Iran regarding the disappearance of Robert 

15 Levinson to the United States Government; 

16 (4) urges the President to make clear that the 

17 return of Robert Levinson is a priority to the United 

18 States and commit to redoubling United States Gov19 ernment efforts to secure the release of Robert 

20 Levinson; 

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

22 United States to continue to press the Government 

23 of Iran at every opportunity to locate and return 

24 Robert Levinson, notwithstanding ongoing and seri25 ous disagreements the United States Government 


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•HRES 218 IH 

1 has with the Government of Iran on a broad array 

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

3 sponsorship of international terrorism, destabiliza4 tion of the Middle East, and human rights abuses; 

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

6 issues, further delay in locating and returning Rob7 ert Levinson remains a significant obstacle to im8 proving United States-Iran relations; and 

9 (7) expresses sympathy to the family of Robert 

10 Levinson for their anguish and hope that their or11 deal can be brought to an end in the near future. 

Æ 


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